All Magic Comes With a Price
by CandyApple75
Summary: Set after 'Queen of Hearts'. There are side effects to absorbing that much fairy dust and they're not what anyone expected. Regina is a toddler, but she's maintained her adult mind. Can Emma find a way to turn her back before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**As with most of my fics, there's a back story to this. I was at my cousin's baby shower a few weeks ago and there was this little girl of about two there. She was so adorable and I couldn't for the life of me think of who she reminded me of. The next day I was watching Once (I think it was The Cricket Game) and it hit me. The girl looked like I imagined a toddler Regina would.**

**I took that image and turned it into…I don't even know what this is. I know I have other stories going and people have been busting me to work on those, but this was the only thing I've been able to write, so I hope it's okay.**

**I don't own anything (unfortuantley), but this is un-betaed, so beware of typo ninjas.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma was sitting in the sheriff's station with her feet up on the desk and a cup of Granny's hot cocoa with cinnamon in her hand. Man, it felt good to be back. Yes, the bonding time with her mother had been nice, but Cora, Hook, the ogres and the daily life-or-death battles were _so _not worth it. And she was still upset that she had been in the woods with Mulan, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and there hadn't been a single musical number.

She pulled the lid off her cocoa and dipped her tongue into the whipped cream. She was just about to take an actual sip when the phone rang.

"Hello?" she said.

"Emma?" Henry was on the other end of the line and he sounded worried.

"What's wrong?"

"I went over to my mom's house to find my Avengers comics and she's…well…it's hard to explain. Can you come over?"

"Sure, Henry. I'll be right over," Emma said. She hung up the phone and stood up, grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair. David entered the room just as she was grabbing her keys.

"Where are you going? I got doughnuts."

"Henry just called. Something happened to Regina. I'll just go check it out. I won't be long."

"Alright," David said. "Be careful."

"No guarantees," Emma called back as she made her way out the door.

~*oO0Oo*~

It only took five minutes to get to Regina's house. The second she parked her car, Henry was racing towards her.

"Woah. Okay, what's wrong?" Emma asked.

"Just come see," Henry said. He grabbed her hand and all but dragged her into the house, down the hall and into Regina's study.

There, sleeping on the couch and covered by a black blanket was a toddler. Emma stepped a little closer and realized that the blanket was Regina's clothing. She turned to Henry who just shrugged.

"I came over and I didn't see her, so I came in here to look for her and I found…that."

"What the hell are we supposed to do with a toddler?" Emma asked.

At that moment, the toddler in question rolled over and rubbed her eyes. She blinked and took in her surroundings.

"Miss Swan? Henry? What's going on?"

Emma looked down at the little girl. Those chocolate brown eyes were unmistakable. "Regina?"

"Mom?" Henry asked. "Why are you a toddler?"

"I'm a what?" Regina asked. She looked down at her small hands and the blouse that was hanging around her tiny body. "What the hell?"

"What did you do?" Emma asked.

"I didn't do anything. I haven't used any magic since...since the well two days ago. I don't know what happened."

"You're so cute," Henry said, looking at Regina's round eyes and dark curls.

"You kind of are," Emma said, which earned her a death glare. "What? Can I help it that you're the world's most adorable toddler?"

"Shut. Up," Regina growled, her hands clenching into fists and Emma took a step back.

"What do we do now?" she asked, turning to Henry.

"I don't know," Henry said. "Mr. Gold might know."

"No," Regina snapped. "He's not seeing me like this."

"Well then you can just spend the rest of your life as a freakin' three-year-old. Which do you think is the better option?"

"No." Regina crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. Emma and Henry had trouble holding in their giggles.

"Would you rather talk to the fairies?" Emma asked.

"I'm perfectly capable of fixing this myself."

"Then why don't you?"

Regina paused for a moment and struggled to think of something to say. "I'm fine."

"You didn't answer my question," Emma said with a smirk. "Why don't you change yourself back?"

"I can't," Regina whispered with her head hung low.

"How long have you been like this?"

"I was feeling really off yesterday and I just laid down for a little while. Now I'm…three."

"Alright. Well, I think we need to talk to Gold."

"No," Regina said again. "Not while I'm like this. I'd never hear the end of it."

"What choice do we have?" Emma asked. "You're in the body of a three-year-old. As much as you just want to be left alone, you can't exactly take care of yourself and this might get worse. If anyone will know what to do, it's Gold."

"Everything he has comes at a price. Why do you think he never got a car?"

"I just assumed you decided to troll him a little. I mean, the pink house and everything."

"No. Even before he got his memories back, he believed cars were too much power at too little a price."

"Well," Emma said. "I have no idea what to say to that, but we're still going. Even if you don't come, I'm still telling him."

"Fine," Regina said. "We can talk to Gold."

"Alright. Hold on, where'd Henry go?"

"I'm right here," Henry said. He walked into the study and held up a pair of toddler sized jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. "I know it's not girl clothes, but I figured you'd need something to wear for now. You know, since your suits don't fit anymore."

"Thank you, sweetheart," Regina said. Her cheeks were starting to turn pink and Emma could feel the tension in the air.

"Can you…"

"Of course I can still dress myself," Regina snapped.

"Alright. I'll be back in a few."

Emma and Henry walked out of the study and closed the door softly.

"What do we do?" Henry asked.

"I have no idea, kid," Emma said. "With any luck, Gold can just turn her back and this'll be over before it starts."

~*oO0Oo*~

"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything," Mr. Gold said.

"What the hell do you mean?" Regina asked. She was standing on top of the counter and was still just about eye level with the pawnbroker/imp.

"You absorbed an amount of fairy dust that could very well have killed anyone else. You should know better than anyone that all magic comes with a price. All of that magic from the well is inside of you and until it wears off, you'll be stuck like this."

"Wears off?"

"Could be anywhere from a few days to a few years. You really should have thought before you opened the well, dearie."

"You can't change her back?" Emma asked.

"No. Fairy dust is powerful magic and its effects are not easily reversible. I doubt the fairies can do anything either, seeing as she absorbed the last bit of their dust. I'll look for something, but until then, Miss Swan…I do believe you have a child to raise."

* * *

***gasp* A cliffhanger! I've never been this mean to you before! Well, I swear to you that the next chapter is almost done and if people are interested in reading it, I'll post it within a few days. I'm going to apologize in advance because updates will be sporadic, but this is my first actual fic with a real storyline and that's not complete and utter crack, so I'm super pumped.**

**Thanks for reading and please leave a review!  
~Candy :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody! Sorry for the delay. This chapter gave me hell, but I think it turned out pretty well. Who knew toddler Regina would be such a hit? A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this story. You all are awesome!**

**Oh. And as of right now, Cora is NOT in Storybrooke. That's right, you can all breathe a collective sigh of relief.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Emma Ruth Swan, what did you do?" Snow said the second Emma walked through the door with a very angry Regina in her arms and Henry following behind.

"This looks weird, doesn't it?" Emma asked.

"Yeah. It does. What happened?"

"Put me down!" Regina cried. She was not at all happy about being carried from the pawn shop to the Charmings' apartment. Emma quickly set the little girl on the ground and then turned to face her mother.

"Okay. Here's what happened," Emma said. "All the fairy dust that Regina absorbed from the well to save us turned her into a toddler and Gold says there's no way to reverse it. Unless the fairies get a new batch of dust soon, we have to let it wear off."

"And you brought her here because…"

"What was I supposed to do? She's the size of a three-year-old. It's not like she can take care of herself. It's just for a little while anyway."

"Well, I guess she is kind of cute."

"I'm not cute!" Regina screamed. She had somehow managed to climb up onto the couch unseen and was now laying across the cushion.

"Don't call her cute," Emma said. She pulled up the leg of jeans and showed her mother the bruises she had gotten from multiple kicks to the shin.

"Alright. Why don't you stay here with Regina and Henry while I go out and do some shopping then?" Snow asked.

"What? Shopping? Why do we need to go shopping?" Emma asked. She looked over at the couch where Henry was now sitting next to Regina.

"Well obviously she's going to need new clothes and sippy cups and bowls and spoons and so much other stuff."

"You do realize that she's still Regina, right? She doesn't need sippy cups. Besides, where are you going to get all this stuff? It's not we live next to a Babies R Us."

"First of all, she's a toddler. Her hands are so small that she's likely to drop anything she grabs. Secondly, Storybrooke is full of surprises. I'll be back soon."

Before Emma could say anything else, Snow had grabbed her purse and was heading out the door.

~*oO0Oo*~

"Henry! Henry, stop!" Regina was rolling around on the couch while Henry tickled her. "Stop it!" She was laughing hysterically and Henry refused to stop. Emma grinned, watching the exchange. Regina slapped at Henry. Her face was turning red and Henry was giggling.

"Hey, I'm…what's going on?" David asked as he opened the door.

Henry stopped tickling Regina who tumbled off the couch. She quickly stood up and brushed her hair out of her face. Emma just looked around the room. She was at a total loss for words.

"Regina?" David asked catching sight of the toddler's unmistakable brown eyes. "What the hell is going on?"

"Does that question even apply to this town anymore?" Emma asked.

"It does if I walk into my house and the former evil queen is a three-year-old."

"I'm thirty-four," Regina grumbled.

"With her adult mind," David said. "Of course. Where's Snow?"

"Shopping," Emma said.

"Can we watch TV?" Henry asked.

"Go ahead," Emma said.

Regina walked into the kitchen and tried to reach the fridge but found she was too short. "I'm hungry," she declared.

Emma reached into a bowl on the counter and grabbed an orange.

"I don't like oranges."

"You're in Snow White's house. I'm pretty sure apples will be hard to come by," Emma snapped.

Then, keeping up with the Charming family's reputation of bad timing, Snow walked in with bags hanging off her arms. Regina glared at Emma and made her way back to the couch with the orange.

"How did you…? You know what? I probably don't even want to know where you got all that," Emma said.

"You probably don't," Snow said. She greeted David with a quick kiss.

"So what did you get?" Henry asked. Regina was struggling to peel her orange given her new lack of fingernails. Emma couldn't help but giggle.

"Well," Snow said in a tone that made Emma wonder why in the world Henry had asked. "I got lots of new clothes and some toddler friendly bowls, spoons, etc. And…THIS!"

With a flourish, Snow pulled out the most horrible dress Emma had ever seen. It was pink and poofy and there were ribbons and bows and ruffles all over it. And it was just Regina's size.

"No," Regina said. "No, no, no, no, no, no! I would never wear something so…atrocious."

"There's normal stuff in here too," Emma said. She glanced over to see what had kept Henry and David from commenting to see that they were both doubled over in silent laughter.

"I got matching shoes, too!" Snow squealed. She held up a pair of pink Mary-Janes with bows on them.

"I think you're going a little overboard here," Emma said. "She's still Regina. She's just…concentrated evil."

"Are you kidding? Until she turns back to normal, you get to be a mother for real. Isn't that so exciting?"

"Yes, because when I imagined being a mother, I totally imagined that I would be raising my enemy who still thinks like an adult even though she's the size of a three-year-old," Emma said.

"Um…guys?" Henry asked. He pointed over at the couch. Well more specifically, he pointed at Regina who was jumping up and down on the couch.

"Regina, what the hell are you doing?" Emma asked.

The little girl stopped jumping and looked confused for a second. "I…I'm not sure."

"Well stop it. I don't want you to fall and end up with a concussion or something."

"See? You're getting good at it already," Snow said. "Now it's getting late. Why don't you help me fix dinner?"

"I'm going to go…check on the horses. I think I might have forgotten to feed one. Henry, you want to come?"

"Sure," Henry said. He turned off Spongebob Squarepants that had been playing quietly in the background for the past ten minutes and followed David outside.

Regina was sitting on the couch with a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales open on her lap. Emma and Snow watched her from the kitchen.

"What are we going to do with her?" Emma whispered.

"I suppose we'll have to take care of her. You should be excited; you get a second chance at motherhood."

"Why me? You'd probably be better at it than me."

"You'll do fine. Besides, it's not you're actually raising a toddler. She's still Regina."

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am," Snow said. "Besides…she's adorable."

"I heard that!" Regina cried. Emma rolled her eyes and focused her attention on cutting the carrots Snow gave her. It was official; this was the weirdest place she had ever lived.

* * *

**I don't think there's really all that much to say now. I'll **_**try **_**to post the next update quickly, but no guarantees. I love you all and please leave a review. They always make me smile! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's time for more little Regina cuteness. I've got plenty of time to write over the next few days and plenty of ideas, so I'll most likely get at least one more chapter in before this week's episode of 'Hey, Why Don't We All Torture Regina and the Rumbelle Shippers and Laugh as People Cry?' I'm seriously beginning to think the writers survive on our misery.**

**Anyway, toddler Regina makes everything better. I so wish I had a picture of this little girl because the resemblance was creepy! It was like someone shrunk Lana! If I could draw (you know, at all) I'd draw you all a picture, but I suck in that respect. Although if any of you guys want to try, go right ahead. **

**Okay, I'm rambling. I don't own it but I want to…Enjoy.**

* * *

Dinner was…awkward…to say the least. Regina was too small to sit comfortably at the table so Emma had spent ten minutes digging through drawers until she found an old phone book.

"I love how it's only been a few hours and you're not even putting up a fight anymore," Emma said as she lifted Regina up onto the makeshift high chair.

Regina didn't say anything. She simply stuck out her hand and flipped the blonde off.

"Hey, knock it off. It's not my fault you went and got yourself turned into a damn three-year-old."

"Need I remind you that if I hadn't, you and your mother would have both died?" Regina snapped.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but I just can't get over your voice," Snow said. She set the bowl of salad down on the table and walked back into the kitchen to get the ziti. "That little lisp and the whistle and, oh you're too cute!"

"Shut the hell up."

"Something smells good," David said. He and Henry entered the apartment and inhaled deeply. "What are we eating?"

"Baked ziti, salad and rolls," Snow said. "Wash up and come sit down."

They all ate in silence for a good ten minutes. Well, except for Regina who was grumbling about having to use a plastic bowl. And she downright refused to drink her milk out of a sippy cup.

"Here then," Emma snapped. She grabbed the cup and pulled the lid of it. "Drink it like that then."

Regina shot her a death glare that almost made Snow squeal. Emma ignored the look and took another bite of her roll. When she next looked over at the little girl, she saw Regina beating her ziti with the back of her spoon.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Wha-?" Regina started. She looked around for a moment and realized what she was doing.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked.

"I'm fine."

"Well alright then, just making sure."

The rest of the meal was finished in silence.

"Can we watch a movie?" Henry asked.

"I don't think so, kid," Emma said. "It's a school night and it's already eight o'clock. How about you head upstairs and you can read for a while?"

Henry looked like he was about to protest, but he thought better of it when he saw Regina rubbing at her eyes. "Fine," he said. "I got some new X-men comics yesterday that I guess I could read."

_Thank you! _Emma mouthed. She lifted Regina out of the chair and was rather surprised when the little girl didn't even protest. "Are you trying to lull me into a false sense of security or something?"

"Oh please," Regina said, cutting herself off with a yawn. "I'll give you hell tomorrow."

"Promises, promises," Emma said. She carried the sleepy child upstairs leaving her parents to clear the dinner dishes.

"She catches on quick," David said.

"This'll be good for her," Snow replied. "It'll be good for all of us."

"You just don't want to have to worry about adult Regina again."

"Well, it might be nice to not have her glaring down at us for a while."

"I guess you're right."

~*oO0Oo*~

Emma's eyes snapped open and scanned the dark room. For a moment, she was unsure of why she had woken up. And then she heard it. It was a soft whimpering noise coming from the other side of the room.

Emma slid slowly out of bed and went over to where Regina was sleeping. Her 'bed' was a thick pile of blankets on the floor and a warm quilt on top of her. David was planning on setting up a small bed for her later on tomorrow.

"Regina?" Emma whispered. She reached a hand tentatively down and placed it on the whimpering girl's shoulder. "Regina, wake up."

Regina opened her eyes and looked up at Emma.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

"You were crying in your sleep," Emma said. "What's wrong?"

"It was just a dream."

"A dream that made Regina Mills cry? Do tell."

"Go away," Regina snapped.

"No. You're a mom, you know how this works. I'll drag it out of you one way or another."

"It's just…I'm not used to nightmares. I suppose I'm normally the cause rather than the recipient."

"First off, that's bull. I met your mom. She's a nightmare and a half. Second, Snow's right, your voice is adorable when you use big words."

"I'm fine. Can I just go back to sleep now?"

"Alright, but only because I have to be at the station early tomorrow. G'night."

"Good night," Regina said. She rolled back over and pulled the blanket back up over her head. What was wrong with her? This must be what going insane felt like.

Emma climbed back into her be, but it took a few minutes to actually fall back asleep. The last, fleeting thought on her mind as she drifted off was _Is she actually turning into a three-year-old? _Her brain dismissed the thought as stupid the second she had it, but there was definitely something weird going on.

By the time she woke up in the morning, the thought had been all but totally forgotten.

* * *

**Oh fluff, you weren't supposed to happen. Then again, this chapter has been re-written so many times that if I have to do it again, I think I might scream and/or kill my laptop. Anyway, there's a big snow storm coming in tomorrow (well, later on today) and my school has already canceled, so barring loss of power, I'll have another (funnier) chapter up tomorrow. **

**Now FanFiction takes precedence over sleep, but it's nearly two a.m. Thanks for reading and pretty please with Nutella on top leave a review. See you all tomorrow! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**And there was posted another update. And there was much rejoicing. Wait, does that sound too conceited? Hey, look! Little Regina!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"It's Friday," Emma said. She sprinkled some cinnamon on her toast and sat down at the table.

"And?" David asked.

"What are we going to do with Regina?"

Snow looked up from her book. "Oh, you're right. I didn't even think about that. I'm taking my kids on a field trip into the woods today."

"Yeah, because nothing says 'fun field trip' quite like a walk in the woods," Emma teased. The remark earned her a glare from Snow. "Okay, so you and Henry are unavailable. I've gotta be down at the station today."

"I'm at the stables. One of the grooms got sick and they need some help," David said. "Isn't it Ruby's day off at the diner? Call her and have her cover the station."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Snow asked. She sipped her coffee and raised an eyebrow.

"Things have been weird since magic came back and I don't want her to have to deal with anything by herself."

"Why can't she come here and babysit?" Henry asked.

"Because…well because…they don't really get along," Emma said.

"We really don't have much of a choice," Snow said.

"You do know I'm right here, right?" Regina asked. She was standing, arms crossed, at the bottom of the stairs. "And I don't need somewhere here."

"First off, no. You don't get a say," Emma started. "Second, yes you do need someone here because you can't even open the fridge by yourself. So unless you want to starve until we get home, someone needs to watch you."

"Fine," Regina snapped. She took a step forward. "What's for breakfast?"

"Toast and juice," Emma said. She set a plate in front of Regina and filled a sippy cup with juice. "I'll go call Ruby."

Emma walked upstairs and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She dialed Ruby's number and only had to wait for the second ring for the girl to pick up.

"Hey, Emma. What's up?"

"Hey, Rubes. I know it's your day off, but could you maybe do some babysitting for us today?"

"Sure, no problem. Is Henry sick or something?"

"No. It's actually a lot more complicated then that. Just…just come on over and you'll see what I mean."

"I'm on my way."

Emma hung up and started getting dressed. By the time she was slipping on her red leather jacket, she heard a knock at the door. She dashed downstairs, but Snow reached it before her.

"Alright. Now what's so complicated that Emma couldn't talk to me about it on the phone?" Ruby asked. Then she caught sight of Regina. "Oh my gosh! You guys got a kid! She's so cute! Where can I get one?"

"Ruby, meet Regina," Emma said.

"Regina?" Ruby asked. "You got a kid and named her Regina?"

"Oh, your naivety is so sweet," Snow teased.

"Give it a second," Emma said.

"Wait. This is actually Regina? What the hell?"

"Fairy dust," Regina snapped. "Damn fairies."

"With her normal mind. Wonderful," Ruby said.

"I'm sorry, Rubes. We didn't know who else to call and none of us can take her with us. Do you mind? It's just for today."

"No worries," Ruby said with a smile. "Everything'll be fine. I'll see you guys later."

"I owe you big time!" Emma called over her shoulder as she, Henry and her parents headed outside.

As soon as the Charmings were out of the house, Ruby turned to Regina. "So what happens now? Do we play board games or watch movies or what?"

"I suppose we could watch a movie," Regina said.

"Alright. What do you want to watch?"

Regina slid off the couch and looked at the DVD rack. She grabbed a case and handed it to Ruby.

"Pirates of the Caribbean?"

"It's funny," Regina said with a shrug.

"I'm not complaining," Ruby said. She slid the movie into the DVD player and pressed play.

~*oO0Oo*~

Emma hadn't really lied. She just hadn't told the entire truth. She didn't really have any weird crap to worry about. She was, in fact, sitting in the sheriff's station looking up stuff about toddlers. She had no idea what she was doing. Snow liked to pretend that she had experience, but she was fourth grade teacher. She didn't know jack.

Just as Emma was scrolling through a webpage, the phone rang. "Hello?" she said when she picked it up.

"Ah, Miss Swan. Good morning."

"What do you want Gold?"

"I've been looking into Regina's…condition and I found something rather unexpected."

"What?" Emma asked. She felt her hand tighten around the phone.

"Why don't you and Regina come down to the shop and we can talk about it."

"No. How about you tell me what's going on right now."

"If you insist," Gold said. "It's come to my attention that it might be possible that she will have moments when she's actually a three-year-old."

"What?" Emma felt the blood drain from her face.

"It could be little moments where she does something childish or moments when she says something that doesn't make sense. If she's like this for long enough, they could get longer; hours, days, maybe even weeks."

"How in the hell did you find this out?"

"I might not be knowledgeable in the workings of fairy dust, but magical age regression tends to work like that. I'm not sure, but I thought I might let you know."

"Well is there anything we can do?"

"Nothing that I can find, but I'll let you know."

"Okay, thanks."

"Goodbye, Miss Swan. Best of luck to you."

Emma hung up the phone and sat back in her chair. Now instead of keeping a tiny Regina happy, she had to worry about her actually turning into a three-year-old. Suddenly the previous day's events held new weight Regina had jumped on the couch and played with her food and cried after a nightmare. Those must be the little moments.

Wonderful.

~*oO0Oo*~

"Hey, Ruby. How'd it go?" Emma asked. She closed the door behind her and threw her jacket over a chair.

"Great actually. We watched a couple movies, she took a nap, we had lunch and then she started reading one of Henry's Harry Potter books. No problems whatsoever. In fact, it was weird. She wasn't being a bitch to me."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"I guess so," Ruby said. "It's just…weird."

"Alright, well thanks again. Here." Emma handed Ruby a fifty dollar bill.

"No way. Twenty max. I didn't have to do anything."

"Come on. Take the money or my mother will kill me for not forcing you to take it."

"No way. Even if I did want it, this is Storybrooke. Twenty bucks here will get me just as much as fifty bucks somewhere else."

"Fine," Emma said. "Enjoy your twenty bucks."

"Will do. Call me if you need me again. She's easier than Henry."

"I will. Thanks again, Rubes," Emma said. She watched the younger woman walk out and then walked towards Regina who was sitting on the couch with a book on her lap. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing," Regina said. "I just…figured there isn't any use fighting anymore. If I'm stuck like this, I might as well get used to it."

"Who are you and what have you done to Regina?"

"Shut up."

"Okay, Regina's back. Oh, Gold called me today."

"What's wrong?" Regina asked. Her eyes widened a bit and she looked nervous.

"He said…well…he told me that you might have moments when you're actually three. And they might start lasting longer as long as you're stuck like this."

"Is there any way to stop it from happening?"

"He said he didn't find anything, but he'll keep looking."

"Well he's a bastard! You need to call him back and find out everything he knows!"

"Relax," Emma said. "We're not going to freak out. Gold said this would wear off eventually, remember?"

"I suppose. But how long am I going to be stuck like this? I can't stay this way for long. I'm going insane!"

"You're fine. Hey, it could be worse."

"How?"

"It could be raining," Emma said. "Now I'm going to go start dinner before Snow and Henry get back from their hippie trip. Any requests?"

"No damn sippy cups," Regina said.

"Sorry, Snow's orders. How's frozen pizza sound?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Fine. Frozen pizza then. It's a wonder you're not three hundred pounds."

"Hey, don't knock the pizzas. When they're all you can afford and you make a living running in heels trying to catch criminals, frozen pizzas are a gift."

"They're also a disgusting excuse for junk food."

"You don't have to use the little plastic bowl," Emma said.

"Pizza it is then," Regina said.

Emma pulled a pizza out of the freezer and slid it into the oven. "Hey," she said. "I know this is bad, but you know we're not going to let you go if you do turn into a three-year-old, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not your mother. Neither is Snow. We've all had our issues and when things get back to normal, I'm sure we'll have more issues, but we're not just going to leave you."

"Is dinner ready yet? I'm hungry," Regina said.

"Go ahead, ruin the moment then. My parents and Henry should be home any minute now."

"Great. I'm going to read some more. Tell me when the pizza's ready."

"Harry Potter?" Emma asked.

"I'm the mother of an eleven-year-old boy. Knowledge of and a liking for Harry Potter comes with the package along with full knowledge of and an extreme enjoyment of all things Marvel."

"Good to know," Emma said. "Good to know."

* * *

**Five pages. That's how long this one is. The others average out about two pages. I'm proud of myself. I wanted to put this up sooner, but we got about three feet of snow last night and I had to help shovel and now everything hurts. But I'm not complaining! The way I see it, the snow's better than the heat. Plus…ONCE IS BACK TOMORROW!**

**Thanks for reading, please review and I'll try to post again soon. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**The time has come for another update. And because I'm still upset about the way Henry is just Emma's son now and no one needs to let Regina in anymore, I have some Henry/Regina time for you. It's kind of short, but I hope you like it. **

**And by the way…AliasSpyCrazy pointed out that Regina would look like Boo from Monsters Inc. She totally would! Just, you know, more stern and in different outfits. But the face is totally the same.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma was just pulling the pizzas out of the oven when Snow and Henry came in.

"Hey guys," she said. "How was the hike?"

"Fun," Henry said. "Well, fun for everyone except Gramma."

"Why?" Emma asked. She was looking at the pizzas on the counter. "What happened to Gram-AH!"

"Thanks," Snow snapped. She had small cuts all over her face, a cut above her eye and a spot on her cheek that was thoroughly bruised.

"You look like you lost a fight with a rock."

"That's actually exactly what happened," Henry said. "We were walking and she tripped and she hit her face on a rock."

"It's a big improvement actually," Regina said.

"You shut up. I'm going to go clean myself up a bit," Snow said. She headed upstairs and Emma heard the bathroom door slam shut.

"Damn it, we're out of garlic," she said.

"What do we need garlic for?" Henry asked. "Vampires aren't real."

"I'm making garlic bread with dinner and we need garlic. I'm going to run down to the grocery store and get some. We're running low on milk and cinnamon too. I won't be long." With that, she grabbed her coat and headed outside. Henry heard her start the bug and drive off.

"You're reading Harry Potter?" Henry asked awkwardly. It was weird having to start a conversation with his mom.

"Yes. It's actually really good."

"Yeah." Henry tried desperately to think of something to say. "How was your day with Ruby?"

"Henry," Regina said. "You know I'm still me, right?"

"I know. It's just…this is weird even for Storybrooke."

"It is. But it'll wear off eventually."

"But what if it doesn't?"

"Then we'll find a way to change me back. Or maybe you'll just have to get used to having a mother that's smaller than you are."

"You don't mind Emma and Gramma and Gramps taking care of you?"

"Well I really don't have much choice in the matter, do I?" Regina smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "Besides, at least this way I get to spend time with you."

"I love you, Mom," Henry said.

"I love you too, dear."

"You know, Gramma's right. You really are adorable. You look like that little girl from that movie. Was it Monsters Inc.? I think her name was Boo, but she had the same eyes and dark hair even though she was animated and you're real and…"

"Henry," Regina interrupted the boy's rant. "I'm not cute. I'll let it slide this time, but I am not cute."

"Okay," Henry said with a little smirk that made him look more like Regina than was biologically possible. "You're not cute. You're ugly."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not cute, so you must be ugly," Henry said. "It's simple logic."

"I suppose that's what I get for sending you to the school that Snow White teaches at."

"When's Emma getting home? I'm starving."

"I'm not sure. I…" Regina trailed off and looked at Henry for a moment like she was confused.

"Mom?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Can't catch me!" Regina shrieked. Before Henry could react, she had jumped off of the couch and was racing around the apartment at lightning speed. Henry was too shocked to do anything except watch her until Emma opened the door.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked when Regina nearly knocked her over.

"I don't know," Henry said. "We were talking and then she started running around like a…" the boy's eyes widened at the realization. "Like a three-year-old."

Emma quickly set the grocery bags on the table and caught the little girl up in her arms. "Regina?" she asked. The toddler's black curls were mussed and her brown eyes sparkled with childish laughter. "What are you doing."

"Playing tag," Regina said with a giggle. "Henny was apposed a be chasing me."

"Okay, well it's time for dinner now. Do you want some milk?" Regina nodded vigorously. "Alright. Henry? Can you get your mo-Gina some milk?"

"Sure," Henry said. He poured some milk into a sippy cup and handed to Emma who screwed on the cap gave it to the eager toddler.

"Gold said this might happen. Just roll with it," Emma said. She looked down at Regina. The girl's eyes clouded over for a moment, but then they were clear. And they were clearly Regina's eyes.

"It happened, didn't it?" she asked. Emma nodded. "I'm sorry, Henry. Did I scare you?"

"Not really. It was weird, but it was..." Henry grasped for a word other than cute. "It was adorable. I kind of like Gina. Not as much as I like you though."

Regina didn't even acknowledge the last part. She just narrowed her eyes and looked at Emma. "Gina?"

Emma was saved from having to answer when David opened the door and Snow came downstairs. "Dinner's ready!" she exclaimed. "Who's ready for frozen pizza and store-bought garlic bread?"

"Me." The word came from David, Snow and Henry all at the same time.

"Then let's eat."

~*oO0Oo*~

The ship drifted into the harbor with confidence. Standing in the very center of the deck were two figures. One was clearly a pirate with a hook for a hand, a long leather jacket and a spyglass in his good hand. The other was a woman in a long, blue gown with a rose in her hands.

"There it is," Hook said, lowering his spyglass.

"Storybrooke," Cora said. She was smiling.

* * *

**Wow. I can almost hear the screams of "WHY?" and "NO!" and my personal favorite "YOU ARE EVIL!" Yes I am. Mwahahaha. I'll try my best to update this quickly.**

**In other news…what do you all think of Gina? You got your first real glimpse of her here and I can promise you lots more to come. I know this was short, but it accomplished what it needed to in a way I was happy with. **

**Now you know I love you all, but it's 11:30 and I have school tomorrow (maybe the roads will freeze and I'll get a delay), so I need to get some sleep. In the mean time, reviews are virtual Nutella that will help me survive Spanish class tomorrow. Without them, I might not make it. Til next time! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I have amazing news for you all. WE HAVE BROKEN 100 FOLLOWERS (111 last I checked)! This is my first story to do that and I've only posted 5 chapters so far. Thank you so much! You seriously have no idea how happy I am right now. I love you all! In fact, consider this a Valentine's present to you all.**

**Anyway, apparently I've caught the writing bug, but I'm going to give you all fair warning that updates might be thinning out for a while. Don't worry though. I'll try to post whenever I can. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The rest of the night was relatively uneventful. Regina was herself all night. Not a single hint of little Gina appeared. Although Regina did make known her dislike of the nickname.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny with about a foot of snow that must have fallen last night now covering the town. Emma knew she and David were going to have to go out and shovel at some point, but she decided to put it off for a while. She was the first one up which was pretty odd and she was going to put this time to good use. At least that was what she was planning when Regina came downstairs.

"Morning," Emma said. She was busy pulling things like flour, sugar and eggs out onto the counter.

"Good morning?" Regina said but it came out as more of a question. "What are you doing?"

"Making breakfast."

"You're making breakfast?"

"Yeah," Emma said.

"You can cook?"

"I suppose we'll find out. Why? Are you offering to help?"

"Maybe. What are you making?"

"Let's see if you can go a full minute without asking a question and maybe I'll tell you." Emma finished getting out the rest of the ingredients and then put her hands on her hips until a minute had passed. "I'm making pancakes."

"Have fun."

"Wait, you don't want to help?"

"I have better things to do with my time."

"Alright. Have fun then." Emma turned back to the counter trying to make sense of the recipe that Snow seemed to have memorized. She grabbed an egg out of the carton and was about to crack it into the bowl when she heard Regina's little voice behind her.

"No. You have to mix the dry ingredients together first."

"Fine then, Miss…pancake…person. You do it."

"I think I'm beginning to see where Henry gets his horrible timing from."

"Are you going to help me or not?"

"Fine," Regina sighed. "Get me a chair so I can reach."

Emma pulled a chair over to the counter and struggled to hold back her giggles as the little girl scrambled up onto it. Regina huffed and started tugging at the sleeve of her Hello Kitty pajamas. After a few failed attempts, she held her arm out to Emma who rolled up the sleeves with ease.

"You better not flash into little Gina here because so help me if you get flour in my hair I'm going to help Snow force you into that dress and have Henry take pictures."

"You wouldn't dare," Regina said.

"Try me," Emma replied. "Now make the pancakes."

Turns out Regina could make pancakes better than Snow. She managed to do everything herself even with her childish lack of fine motor skills. Emma gave the batter a final stir and started pouring it onto the hot pan. Within minutes, the first one was ready and Emma cut it in half giving one piece to Regina and biting into the other herself.

"Wow. You are good," Emma said.

"Why do you act so surprised? I'm the mother of a ten-year-old boy."

"Because whenever I picture you cooking, I can only see what I just saw which was your tongue sticking out of your mouth while you tried not to spill the flour or the evil queen from the Disney movie bent over a stove."

"Well thank you for your confidence in my culinary abilities," Regina said sarcastically.

"I'm going to finish making these. Once the others wake up, they'll want some."

Emma stacked the remaining pancakes on a plate and cleaned up the counter just as Henry came out of his room and she could hear her parents moving around upstairs.

"You made pancakes?" Henry asked incredulously.

"Regina made them. I just did the part in the actual pan."

"Thanks, Mom!" Henry grabbed a plate and doused his pancakes in maple syrup. Snow and David did the same when they cam downstairs.

Shortly after breakfast, David glanced out the window and rubbed his hands together. "Emma, want to come out and help me shovel?"

"Sure. Just let me get dressed." Emma put her plate in the sink and headed upstairs. Not five minutes later when she was slipping on her coat, she felt a tug on the leg of her jeans.

"I wanna play outside," Regina said. Well, Gina said it. The look in her eyes made it clear that she was actually three for the time being.

"You want to play outside?"

"Henny said ask you. Can I play outside?" Emma looked at the round face and the fluttery eyelashes and mentally cursed the fact that her least favorite person on the face of the earth was so ridiculously adorable as a little kid.

"Alright. Have Henry help you get your snow stuff on."

"Yay!" Gina clapped her hands with excitement and raced from the room. Emma heard her racing down the stairs and made a mental note to switch bedrooms with Henry so Regina wouldn't have to navigate the stairs anymore. It was too dangerous. She also reminded herself to thank Snow for buying toddler-sized snow gear for the little girl. For once, over prepared was a good thing.

~*oO0Oo*~

"I'm going to take it you had fun?" Snow asked as she watched her family and Regina come inside. All four were rosy-cheeked and smiling. Even Regina who had evidently turned back into herself at some point. "Do I want to know what happened?"

"We just had a snowball fight," Emma said. "Regina started it."

"No, Gina did it," Regina protested.

"So now you agree to the nickname," David said.

"Well I do when I'm not in control of my own body."

"The driveway's clear," Henry said. For once he was the most mature of the group.

"Thank you. For that, Sir Henry, you get the first cup of cocoa," Snow said. She handed him a steaming mug topped with whipped cream and cinnamon and then gave one to Emma and one to David. Regina got a sippy cup of cocoa.

"When did he become a 'sir'?" Emma asked. "I want to be a knight."

"You're a princess," Snow said. "And if you don't watch yourself, I will find you a dress that matches the one I bought for Regina. Now why don't you all take off your coats and warm up. The cookies are almost done."

"Cookies?" Emma, David and Henry asked at the same time.

"Cookies actually sound really good right now," Regina said. "And maybe later we can go back outside?"

"You can count on it," Emma said.

~*oO0Oo*~

Cora was standing on the top of a building with the spyglass pressed against her eye. She had caught sight of Emma. That man must be Prince Charming and the little boy was obviously Henry. But who was the little girl?

Cora used her magic to look closer and saw the hint of black ringlets underneath the pink hat. Then the girl turned and Cora saw the most recognizable pair of eyes she had ever seen. Regina was a toddler. When had this happened? Judging by the shrill laughter and the cries of 'Henny, 'top it!' coming from the girl, she had a toddler's mind.

"She anything interesting?" Hook asked, sidling up next to her.

"Indeed," Cora said. She closed the spyglass and handed it back to the pirate. "In fact, there's been a change of plans."

* * *

**Wow. It's 12:05 a.m. You guys are lucky I love you so much or this wouldn't be posted until at least Saturday. I know there wasn't much Gina in this chapter, but there will be lots more coming up because I've gotten some great suggestions. If any of you have suggestions for thing Gina should do or Emma/Snow/David/Henry should do to Gina, let me know. I'll try to use as many as I can.**

**Now unfortunately, I'm not immortal or immune to sleep, so I guess this is good night and I'll write to you all later! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey all! So it's been a few days, but I finally got this done to my satisfaction. I got one request that I never even thought of exploring (and you better believe I'm kicking myself for it) but jcat30 pointed out that everyone's just taking this in stride. So yes…this had to happen. I'm apologizing in advance for the emotional-ness of this chapter, but the next one will be funnier. I promise. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma collapsed onto the couch with a groan. Regina and Henry were finally in bed and Emma was exhausted. Regina had stayed Regina for the rest of the day, but playing in the snow had tired her out. Nevertheless, she had put up a fight at bedtime claiming that she wasn't tired and that she was too old for an eight o'clock bedtime. It had taken Henry promising to watch JAWS with her tomorrow for her to lie down and go to sleep.

Emma heard the kettle whistling and turned around as Snow pulled it off the burner.

"Little late for cocoa, isn't it?" Emma asked.

"Oh. I didn't hear you come down." Snow said. She poured the hot water into her mug. "And it's tea, not cocoa."

"What's wrong?" Emma asked.

"What do you mean? Everything's fine."

"No. See, you're doing what you always used to do before the curse. You'd make tea in some boring, British flavor and you'd get this look in your eyes and I'd drag the problem out of you and then we'd talk and everything would seem better."

"What's wrong with black tea? Or the British?"

"Nothing. Just…what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. It is what it is."

"What is it? Come one, tell me," Emma said. Snow dropped a teabag into her mug and sat down on the couch next to her daughter.

"Where's Charming?"

"He's showering I think. Either that or he's sleeping. Now what's wrong?"

"It's just…this is weird. And I mean emotionally weird. Not just normal Storybrooke weird. You don't understand. Regina was truly my mother for a long time. I loved her even though I learned she was just pretending, but she raised me through my teenage years. Even after she tried to kill me and the curse broke, I can't forget that."

"And?" Emma prodded.

"And in all the time that I knew her, she never showed weakness. She was always so powerful and strong. I can't remember her getting sick or crying or anything. And now she's a toddler and I'm raising her! I mean, what if she changes permanently and I have no idea what I'm doing and I don't think I can handle it all."

Tears were rolling down Snow's cheeks now and Emma was a little bit in shock. Sure, this was weird for her, but she had never even thought about what it would be like for her mother. Emma opened and closed her mouth a few times before just wrapping her arm around her mother's shoulder.

"It's going to be fine. If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure Regina's probably just as freaked out about this as you are. Being raised by the person you raised? That's got to be horrible."

"But she's still taking it all in her stride."

"She also spent twenty-eight years as a politician. You were a fourth grade teacher. There's a distinct difference in emotions there."

"I know, but…I don't know how this is going to work. I mean, what happens if she turns into Gina permanently? How could we raise the evil queen?"

"We'd make it work. You know, the past two months alone have been the strangest of my life. I fought a freaking ogre. I was trapped in the Enchanted Forest with Mulan, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and I was actually surprised that there was no musical number. Regina as a toddler is nothing."

"You expected a musical number?" Snow asked.

"Well, not really, but there wasn't even any humming. Is it too much to ask for a few seconds of Once Upon a Dream or Honor to Us All?" Emma asked rubbing her hands together.

"If you want a song, I think we should hold out for Tale as Old as Time," Snow said. She took a sip of her tea and smirked as Emma's expression changed from an amused smile to a disgusted grimace.

"Now there's a set of images that I really didn't need burned onto my retinas."

"Emma?" A little voice sounded behind them and both women turned around to see Regina standing at the bottom of the stairs with the stuffed pony Snow had bought her clutched tightly in her arms.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked. She knew it was Gina from the presence of the pony.

"I had a bad dweam." Emma swore she heard Snow squeal a little at Gina's lack of ability to say her Rs. That made saying her own name difficult and so Regina was at last forced to accept the nickname.

"Come here," Emma said. Gina shuffled over to the couch and Emma lifted the little girl up onto her lap. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"Mommy came," Gina said quietly. She buried her face in Emma's shoulder.

_Cora? _Snow mouthed at Emma. Emma shrugged and then started rubbing circles on Gina's back.

"What did she do?" she asked gently.

"She twied to take your heart and Henny's and I couldn't make her 'top."

"Well first off, Mommy's not here," Emma said. As far as she knew, Cora and Hook were still stuck back in the Enchanted Forest. "She's not going to hurt you. And Mommy can't rip out my heart and I wouldn't let her get Henry's."

"Pwomise?" Gina asked. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"I promise. Do you want to sit down here with me for a few minutes?" Gina nodded and leaned back against Emma who wrapped her arms protectively around the little girl. It took less than five minutes for her to fall back to sleep, but Emma couldn't find it in her to get up and possibly disturb the sleeping child.

"See? We've got nothing to worry about," Emma said to Snow. "If she stays Regina then, yes, there will be awkwardness, but she'll still be Regina. If she turns into Gina, hey. I'm not complaining. I could get used to it."

"I guess you're right," Snow said. She finished off the last of her tea and stood up to put the mug in the sink. "Besides, she is pretty cute. She's so innocent and curious. It makes you wonder what Cora did to crush that."

"Let's not even think about that right now. Are you going to bed?"

"Yeah, I think so," Snow said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright. G'night," Emma said. She turned her eyes to the little girl sleeping on her. After a few moments, she felt her stir. "Regina?"

"What the…?" Regina asked. From the look in her eyes, it was evident that she was herself again.

"You…well, Gina, had a bad dream and she fell asleep again," Emma explained.

Regina was quick to scramble off Emma and sit on the couch.

"What's it like?" Emma asked after a moment.

"What's what like?"

"Changing into a three-year-old? It seems like you black out, but what's it like?"

"It's like one second I'm doing something and then I blink and everything just changes and it's a blur, but then I change back and I'm somewhere or I'm doing something that I don't remember doing."

"Are you okay?"

"It doesn't hurt if that's what you're asking," Regina snapped.

"You know, I'm just wondering why your speech changes when you change. Like right now you're talking like you normally do. I mean, aside from the higher pitch and the lisp but…"

"I don't know," Regina said. "I have no idea how this works or what I'm supposed to do or anything."

"Wow. You really did raise my mother," Emma remarked.

"What are you talking about?"

"She just had this meltdown not half an hour ago. She was going on about how weird it all was and how she didn't think she could handle it and we ended with an image of Gold singing."

"I'm not even going to bother asking how you got to that point."

"It's probably best if you don't. But the main point I made to her was that no matter what happens, we'll get through it. We kind of don't have any other choice. Plus, an event like this doesn't even register on my strange-o-meter anymore."

"Good to know."

"Hey," Emma said. "Do you remember the dream Gina was telling us about? She said she saw 'Mommy'. Did you dream about Cora?"

"I…I don't remember," Regina said. "I hope I didn't."

"Don't worry about it. I mean, your mom's still stuck in the Enchanted Forest. Which leads me to a question I've always wanted to ask, what did you guys call that place? I mean, it wasn't _all _forest, was it?"

"Really?" Regina asked. "Of all the questions you could be asking, that's what you're picking?"

"Yes," Emma said. "Now answer it and there might be popcorn with JAWS tomorrow."

"I don't really know what we called it. I always called it the kingdom. I never really gave it much thought."

"Really? The kingdom? I was expecting something cool like Narnia or Arcadia or Middle Earth or something. You just called it the kingdom?"

"I answered your question and if you don't mind, I'm tired and I'd like to go to bed. Good night, Miss Swan." Regina tried to leave in a way befitting of a former mayor/evil queen, but the effect was ruined when she tripped over the hem of her pajama pants and grabbed her pony.

"You can call me Emma you know."

"What?"

"You can call me Emma. When you get into a snowball fight with someone and help them make pancakes, you typically start calling them by their first name."

"Fine," Regina admonished. "Good night, _Emma._"

"G'night, Regina," Emma said. She gave the girl time to get back upstairs before going up herself. She was sore from shoveling and she knew she could look forward to nightmares of Gold singing and dancing, but she was happy. Life honestly could not get much better than this.

* * *

**Wow. Emotions. I feel accomplished now. I hope this satisfied anyone who wanted to know more about how Snow and Regina were dealing. As for now, I'm going to go freak because tomorrow is Sunday and either this is going to be an amazing episode or ABC finds it funny to make people cry. Plus, Lana's hair in those promos. I need to obsess. Right now. Okay, I'm good now. **

**Anyway, the next chapter will be funnier (and may or may not contain Cora). I don't want to give anything away, but you can expect it tomorrow or Monday (or Tuesday. You know what? You'll get it when you get it.) As usual, please review and thanks bunches for reading. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Last chapter held emotions and this one is a bit lighter. I'm not going to waste time telling you all my fangirl musings, but I am so looking forward to the next three episodes, I don't think I'll be able to wait two weeks. Oh well, that's the beautiful thing about Fanfiction. **

**Now, on with the show.**

* * *

Emma sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She blinked a few times and screamed when Regina's face appeared two inches from her face.

"What the hell?" she cried, tumbling sideways and falling off the bed.

"Your mother told me to wake you up. She says it's seven o'clock and if you want breakfast, you need to get down there now," Regina said. Then she started giggling. "You should have seen your face!"

"Is it bad to say I want Gina back?"

"Very," Regina said. She climbed off of the bed and started back downstairs.

"Wait a sec," Emma said. Regina turned back around and placed a hand on her hip.

"What?"

"I know you don't remember stuff from Gina, but do you know if she has any memories of Cora?"

"I'm not sure. It would make sense. She would probably have my memories up until I was three."

"So your mother ripped out hearts in front of you when you were three?"

"My mother was an evil witch that Hook was supposed to have killed."

"Alright, it was a bad question. I get it. Tell Snow I'll be down in a few minutes."

Regina turned and went downstairs while Emma got dressed. It was a little scary how after only three full days, Emma was already getting used to having a toddler around the house. It was kind of nice.

~*oO0Oo*~

"I can't take her with me," Snow said as Emma was walking downstairs. "I would, but I can't worry about her if she changes into Gina."

"What's going on?" Emma asked.

"We're trying to figure out what to do with her today," Snow said.

"I'm right here," Regina snapped.

"Don't worry about it," Emma said. "I called Belle yesterday. She's coming over."

"Belle? You mean the woman I locked up for over twenty-eight years is coming over when I'm powerless?" Regina asked.

"It's Belle," Emma said. "I don't think she's capable of holding a grudge. And besides, if Ruby didn't kill you, you'll be fine with Belle. She should be here any minute now."

"Way to plan ahead," Snow said. "Henry, hurry up and eat. We need to leave soon. Where's David?"

"I'm right here," David said. He was making his way downstairs while tugging on his jacket. "It took me a minute to find my socks."

Emma rolled her eyes and poured herself a bowl of corn flakes. Just as she was sitting down, there was a knock at the door. No one else moved so Emma threw her spoon down in her bowl and went to open the door. She expected to see Belle standing on the other side. Instead she saw…Mr. Gold.

"Um…where's Belle?" Emma asked. At this point, Snow, David, Henry and Regina had all looked over.

"She's feeling a bit under that weather and she told me she was supposed to be here, so I decided to come in her place," Gold said.

"No," Regina snapped. "No way am I staying here with _him_."

"We don't really have any other choice," Emma said. "Snow or I would take you to work with us, but it would be too much to worry about if you turned into Gina. Ruby's working and apparently Belle's sick, so you're stuck with Gold."

"Bastard," Regina muttered.

"Hey. Look," Emma said. "You two play nice. I don't want to come home and find the place burned to the ground because you two couldn't control your little grudge match."

"That might be a little difficult seeing as only one of us has magic right now," Gold said smugly.

"Regina doesn't have magic?" Snow asked.

"No. Magic is fickle. Right now she has the capacity to use magic in the future, but her powers won't even begin to develop until she gets older or until she's returned to her original body," Gold explained.

"Seriously? I gave her the last cookie yesterday because she threatened me with a fireball," David said.

"It was delicious," Regina said.

"Look, I don't care," Emma said. "Just…please. Don't kill each other. I'll try to get back as soon as I can."

"Come on, Henry," Snow said. "You can come to school with me today instead of taking the bus."

Henry grabbed his backpack and followed his grandmother out the door. David waved goodbye to Emma and walked out as well. Emma went back to the table and was about to eat a spoonful of corn flakes when she realized that it was pretty much a soggy paste at this point. She threw the bowl in the sink and went back into the living room.

"I'm serious," she said. "Be good."

"No promises," Regina said with a glare at Gold.

"Goodbye," Emma said. She grabbed her jacket and keys and headed outside. There was no way this was going to end well.

~*oO0Oo*~

"So," Regina said. "What do we do now?"

"I have no idea," Gold responded.

There were a few moments of heavy silence before Regina stood up. Before Gold could say anything, she was tugging the cushions off of the couch and giggling.

"Regina?" Gold asked.

"Huh?" The little girl popped up from behind the cushion with a huge grin plastered on her face. Gold was confused for a moment before her remembered that she could turn into a real three-year-old.

"Gina," he said using the most obvious nickname for the girl. "What are you doing?"

"Buildin' a pillow fort," Gina said. She was hard at work leaning the cushions against each other until they created a small cave just big enough for her to sit inside.

Gold unconsciously thought of when Bae was little. He had once created a similar cave in a pile of straw. Gold could remember crouching down and just watching the little boy act out scenes with rocks. They were the closest things to toys that Gold had been able to provide, but they fulfilled the purpose of giving him something to project his imagination onto.

Gina had her pony in her hands and was mumbling to herself while making the little stuffed toy gallop across the floor in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Gold asked.

"Playin' with Pony," Gina responded easily. "You wanna play?"

Gold hesitated a moment before allowing himself to smile. "Sure. I'll play."

Gina scrambled out of her pillow fort and raced over to the cardboard box that housed her new toys. She found a stuffed dog and raced back to Gold. She handed him the toy and crawled back into the pillows. Gold winced a little as he sank to the ground and began to play with Gina. Not even the Dark One was immune to the little girl's cuteness.

~*oO0Oo*~

Around noon, the phone in the sheriff's station started ringing. Emma set down her pen and picked up the phone, grateful for the distraction from her paperwork. "Hello?"

"Hey, Emma?" It was Ruby.

"Hey, Rubes. What's up?"

"Can you come down here for a sec?"

"Is Leroy drunk again?"

"Yes. Well, no. Not Leroy. Just come?"

"I'm on my way." Emma hung up the phone and headed outside wondering what in the world was going on.

~*oO0Oo*~

"Gina, lunch is ready," Gold said. He set the grilled cheese sandwich on a plate and filled a sippy cup with apple juice. Gina raced over and scrambled up into a chair. Her pony was still sitting in the pillow fort next to a plastic bowl of Cheerios.

"Fank you," Gina said flashing Mr. Gold a toothy smile. She picked up her sandwich and eagerly bit into it. It took her less than ten minutes to finish eating. When she was done, she dashed back off towards the TV where some cartoon about a girl who looked like she had a watermelon for a head and a pet monkey was playing.

Gina appeared to be enthralled by the show, but Gold's attention was on her. She had a bowl of Cheerios in front of her and even after eating lunch, she was still grabbing fistfuls of the cereal and eating it in a way that Gold had never suspected Regina capable of eating.

Gold turned away for five minutes to clean up from lunch and when he turned back, he saw Gina slumped up against a pillow. He didn't want to wake her up, but he decided to pick her up and at least carry her upstairs to her bed. He slipped his arms around her and felt her snuggle unconsciously into his chest. With a soft smile, he carried her upstairs and set her gently in her bed. He pulled the blanket up over her and placed her pony in her arms.

This could have been Regina. She could have grown up like this; so sweet and innocent. Instead she had ended up with Cora as a mother. Maybe this age regression was a good thing after all.

~*oO0Oo*~

Emma pulled up to Granny's and put a hand to hip to make sure her gun was still there before going inside. What she saw made her stop and have to lean against a table for support.

Sitting at the bar babbling drunkenly to an intoxicated Leroy was Captain Hook himself.

Ruby noticed Emma and came out from behind the counter. "He's been really weird. He keeps mentioning you and I didn't know who he was or what he wanted, so I called you. Are you okay?"

Emma's face was pale and she looked…scared. "I'm fine," she said. "I'll take care of him."

She stalked up to the bar and stood in front of the pirate.

"Emma, love," Hook slurred. "Good to see you again. Wanna drink?"

"No thanks, I'll pass," she said.

"Your loss then," Hook said.

Emma lost focus. If Hook was in Storybrooke…maybe Cora was too. She grabbed the pirate by the front of his jacket and dragged him out the back door into the alley.

"What're you doing?" Hook asked.

Emma slammed him up against the wall. "How the hell did you get here?"

"I…"

"Answer me!" Emma demanded.

"The magic bean. We dipped it in the water and it opened a portal."

"We?

"Me and Cora," Hook said.

Emma loosened her hold on the pirate. "Cora's here?"

"Yeah. She's back at the ship."

Emma let go of Hook completely. Cora was here. And Regina was the size of and occasionally a complete three-year-old. This was very, very bad. Emma didn't even notice when Hook turned and ran off.

~*oO0Oo*~

Gina slept for almost two hours and when she woke up, she was content to sit at the kitchen table and draw with some of the many markers Mary Margaret had accumulated over the years. Her 'drawings' tended to be simple scribbles in a variety of colors, but she seemed proud of them.

Pretty soon, Gold heard a knock on the door. He opened it and saw a wild-eyed Emma standing before him.

"Is she okay?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Regina. Gina. Whoever. Is she okay?"

"Yes, of course. She's fine. Why do you ask?"

Emma stared at Gold and took a deep breath before saying, "Cora's here."

"What?"

"Hook was at Granny's. He was drunk and he told me that they opened a portal back here and we need to make sure we keep Regina extra safe now. She can't defend herself."

"What's goin' on?" Gina asked. She walked over with a drawing in her hand.

"Hey, Gina. What's that?" Emma asked. The less Gina knew, the better.

"A pony."

"Oh really?"

Gina nodded proudly.

"Alright. Why don't you put that on the counter for Snow to see when she gets home?"

"Okay," Gina said. When the little girl was out of earshot, Emma turned to Gold.

"How long has she been like that?"

"She was fine for about ten minutes after you left and then she changed."

Emma sighed. She looked around to see Regina looking around curiously.

"Gina?" Emma asked.

"No," Regina snapped. "But I was. For a long time. It's getting worse."

"Don't worry about it," Emma said. "I'm sure Gold's finding a way to change you back."

"I've found a few spells that might work, but I want to wait and test them a bit more to make sure they won't have any ill effects."

"Well keep looking," Emma said. "Thanks for watching her, though."

"It was…better than I expected," Gold said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on Belle."

"We need to talk," Emma said.

"It was Gina, not me," Regina said quickly.

"Go ahead, blame your alter ego then. But seriously, I found something out today and I think you should know."

"What is it?"

"I don't know how Snow and David and Henry are going to take this, so don't tell them, but I think you deserve to know."

"Spit it out then!" Regina demanded.

"Your mother's in town. She and Hook opened another portal and they made it through."

Regina's face paled and she had to sit down on the couch. "You're sure?"

"Yeah," Emma said. "I just…I thought you should know. Don't worry about her though. We'll protect you. She's not going to be able to do anything to you. Or the rest of us."

Regina nodded. "I know. But she'll try."

* * *

**Well. That went in a completely different direction then I thought it was going. Well, I guess that goes to show you how crazy authors are. I thought I was writing this one way and **_**BAM! **_**It's a mass of emotions. **

**I made this one kind of long(ish) but since it's February break, you **_**might **_**see another update this week. And don't worry this chapter isn't going to make everything go all dark. There will be plenty of cute Gina moments coming up. I've got one chapter in the works right now, but it isn't the next one. I'm weird like that.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, please leave a review and we will get through this two week break together. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter gave me a lot of trouble. I swear I rewrote it five or six times before I got this and it probably would have taken me a few more days to get it perfect, but I figured I'd post it before the Oscars.**

* * *

"Hello," Snow said as she waltzed in the door followed closely by Henry. "How'd the day go?"

"Fine considering Gina was here all through it," Regina snapped.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to you referring to yourself in the third person," Emma said. "Now I vote Granny's for dinner. Who's in?"

"Shouldn't we wait for David to get home?" Snow asked.

"He called and said he's going to be a little late. He said he'll meet us there."

Regina glanced over at Emma like she was crazy. Cora was in town and Emma wanted to go out to the most public place in town for dinner? Not to mention the fact that half of the town had no idea about Regina's…condition. That sounded like a recipe for good times.

"I think a little change of pace is what we all need right now," Emma said. "Besides, I'm in a mood for one of Granny's burgers right now. If you guys don't come, I'll go by myself."

"Fine," Snow said.

"Give me a second to get changed," Henry said. He threw his backpack down by the door and raced upstairs.

"I'm going to change too," Snow said looking down at her outfit. "I'll just be a minute."

Regina waited until Snow was out of the room before hissing, "Are you insane? My mother's in town most likely looking for me and you want to go out for dinner?"

"Look," Emma said. "I think we all need a little break from this. The stress of you as a toddler is one thing and adding Cora to that just makes it that much worse. We need to take a step back. After all, if there's one thing I've learned from all this fairy tale crap, it's that good always defeats evil. No offense."

"And yet, I still feel offended," Regina said. It was clear that she was trying to sound strong, but her eyes betrayed her fear.

"All I'm saying is that I was given a chance to change when I got here and if I can change, anyone can. You have to remember that you're like this because you saved my life and Snow's life. This is finally letting people see you in a different light and you need to take advantage of that."

"Thank you for the therapy session," Regina said sarcastically. "Now can we please get back to the point here?"

"What's the point?"

"The point is are you completely insane?"

"Yes. I think I might be at this point," Emma said with a smile. "Now are you ready to go? I hear Henry coming down."

Sure enough, Henry chose that moment to come bounding down the stairs. He had changed out of his school uniform and into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and had a huge smile on his face. Snow exited her room not a minute later and the odd little family made their way outside and to the diner.

~*oO0Oo*~

"I told you this was insane," Regina said. She was standing in the doorway of the diner while what appeared to be half of Storybrooke stared at her. "I'm leaving."

"Oh, come on," Emma said. She blocked the little girl's way and took a step inside. "You're fine with letting us, Ruby and Gold see you this way but no one else can?"

"I wasn't fine with anyone seeing me this way. I didn't have much of a choice with you or Ruby or Gold, but I have a choice here."

"Is there any way to force Gina out for this?"

"Emma, honey," Snow said. "It's cold out here. Step inside so Henry and I can get in."

"Oh, sorry."

"What the hell happened to her?" Leroy asked. He was sitting on a barstool with a beer in his hand.

"I'm going home," Regina said. She tried to force her way out of the diner, but Emma scooped her up. "Put me down!"

"No," Emma said. "We're staying here for dinner and then you can leave. Not before."

"I better be getting something out of this."

"No babysitter tomorrow," Emma said.

"Are you serious?" Regina and Snow asked at the same time.

"Can we sit down and eat yet?" Henry asked.

"Hold on, Henry," Emma said. "And yes, I'm totally serious. Tomorrow I think I'll call out and stay home."

"Hey guys," David said as he walked into the diner. "I'm starved. Who's ready to…"

"Shush!" Snow snapped. She turned back to Emma. "Why? You said you had paperwork and stuff to do and I'm sure Ruby or Belle could watch her again."

"No, it's okay," Emma said. "I think it would be best if I stayed with her tomorrow."

"You know," Regina said. "I'm right here. I can still hear you."

Henry and David looked at Snow, Emma and Regina and then back at each other. David nodded and the pair sat down at a booth.

"If you can hear me, then you'll have an idea of why I should stay with you tomorrow," Emma said.

"Why am I out of loop here?" Snow asked when she noticed the look Emma and Regina were sharing.

"I'll tell you at home. Wait a second…where'd Henry and David go?"

"Hi," David said with a wave. The three women turned around and saw that David and Henry already had sodas and hamburgers in front of them. "We saved you some seats. Now maybe if you stopped arguing long enough to breathe, we can eat."

Emma blushed and slid into the seat next to her father. She set Regina down on the seat next to her. Snow sat down next to Henry and Ruby came over.

"Man, I thought you three were never going to stop. What can I get for you?"

"I'll have a burger and fries with a Coke," Emma said.

"I'll have the same as Emma, but can I have an iced tea in place of the Coke?" Snow asked.

"Sure. Regina? What do you want?" Ruby asked.

"A grilled chicken salad and a water," Regina said.

"Cool. I'll be right back," Ruby said. She headed back into the kitchen.

"Seriously?" Emma asked. "Do you ever eat anything normal?"

"Leave me alone."

Emma let her hand drop off the table and she grabbed Regina's tiny hand. She squeezed gently and gave the little girl an almost imperceptible smile. It was a fleeting moment, but it said clearly _Stop worrying so much._

"Seriously though," Leroy said from his barstool. "What happened to her?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Regina taunted.

"Leroy, you've forgotten one of the rules of Storybrooke," Emma said. "The answer is always magic."

"Whatever." The dwarf went back to his beer and the rest of the people in the diner turned back to their meals. Ruby came out with their food and all their problems were forgotten as they ate.

~*oO0Oo*~

"Alright. bedtime," Emma declared as she walked into the apartment.

"Come on," Henry protested. "Can't I stay up just a little longer?"

"No. It's almost nine o'clock and you have school tomorrow. You can read for a little while."

"Fine," Henry sighed. He turned off the TV and trudged upstairs.

"You should go up too," Emma said looking at Regina. "We've been over this. Little you needs more sleep than normal you. And call me crazy, but I don't think we need a toddler with a caffeine addiction."

"I don't want to," Regina said. But this wasn't her normal huffy tone; this was a quiet, almost embarrassed tone.

Emma glanced at her parents who were sipping cocoa in the kitchen and sat down on the couch. "I thought we talked about this. You're not alone here. We all know what Cora is capable of and none of us want her to win."

"You don't get it," Regina said. There were actual tears sparkling at the corners of her eyes. "My mother was one of my worst nightmares when I was at the height of my power. Now I can't do anything."

"Is everything okay in there?" Snow asked. She set her mug down on the counter and made her way over to the couch with David close behind.

"Everything's fine," Emma said.

"Oh please," Snow said. "That's a total lie."

"Yeah," David said. "What's up?"

Regina faked a yawn and stretched. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed. Good night!"

"Not so fast," Emma said. "You get to stay too."

"Don't wanna," Regina said pitching her voice a little higher in an obvious attempt to sound like Gina.

"Sorry, it's all in the eyes," Emma said.

"What's going on?" Snow asked. "I know something's up."

"It's nothing," Emma said at the exact moment that Regina said, "My mother's in town."

"Way to hold out there," Emma said sarcastically to Regina.

"You mean Cora's here?" Snow asked.

"Come on, tell the truth," David said.

"Do you have to practice to be so stupid or does it just come naturally?" Regina asked.

"I'm going to bed," David muttered. "Good night."

"Cora's here," Snow repeated as if she didn't trust herself.

Emma nodded and then proceeded to recount her meeting with Hook at Granny's. Snow's face was whiter than the snow outside and her mouth was hanging open in shock.

"So that's why you wanted to stay home tomorrow," Snow realized.

"Yeah. And don't tell Henry. Or Gina. Neither of them need to worry about this."

"You mean Gina doesn't know but Regina does?"

"From what we can tell, yes," Regina said. "At least I hope so."

"What should we do?"

"_We _don't have to do anything," Emma said. "You and Henry and David just keep going like normal. I'll stay here with Regina. Everything'll be just fine."

"Alright," Snow said. "Just be careful. I can't lose you and I'm pretty sure someone might be upset if Regina died."

Regina glared at Snow. After that, there was nothing more to say. Emma and Regina headed upstairs and Snow went into her bedroom. One by one, they fell asleep.

~*oO0Oo*~

Around two in the morning, Emma was roused from her sleep when she felt a small body slide into the bed next to her.

"Gina?" she whispered.

Emma rolled over and saw the little girl laying in the bed next to her. The tear tracks on her cheeks sparkled in the light coming through the window.

"Shut up," Regina whispered back.

Emma allowed herself a small smile and let Regina snuggle closer. She could let this slide. After all, Cora was here. And the evil queen was afraid of her. Then again, good always defeats evil. This time would not be an exception.

* * *

**Aw, snuggles! I've got more Gina cuteness coming up and I think there will be more David next chapter. Anyone else get the feeling that there hasn't been enough David? Just me? Okay. Well thanks for reading and please feed that little review box down there. 'Til next time! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright. It seems like I haven't updated in forever, but I think this chapter is worth the wait. I'm really proud of this one and I hope you all like it. Next chapter is almost done (and it's brimming with cuteness), so expect that within the next few days. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I'm home!" Henry called as he walked into the apartment. He threw his backpack to the side and jumped onto the couch where Emma was sitting.

"Hey, kid. How was school?" Emma asked as she set her book down on the coffee table.

"That's not one of Grandma's books," Henry remarked looking at the battered copy of Pride and Prejudice.

"It's one of mine. I got it as a Christmas present from some of my nicer foster parents when I was thirteen."

"Cool," Henry said. He was aware that he was venturing into uncomfortable territory and he wanted to pick his next words carefully. "Where's Mom?"

"Nice subject change," Emma said with a small smile. "She's upstairs napping."

"She is?" Henry's eyes widened a bit.

"Yeah. She said she was tired and she headed upstairs about an hour ago." Henry looked a little worried and Emma jumped in. "This whole thing is really stressing her out. You know, she doesn't want to turn into Gina permanently and she wants her body back and everything."

"Okay."

"Got any homework?" Emma asked.

"Just a little."

"Alright. Why don't you go tell your mom you're home and then get the homework done."

Henry nodded and raced towards the stairs. Less than a minute later, Emma heard him call her name.

"I'm coming!" she called. She threw her book down and dashed upstairs. "What's wrong?"

Henry looked terrified. He pointed toward Regina's bed. "She's gone!"

Emma walked over to the small bed and sure enough, the little girl was no where to be seen. The bathroom door was open so she couldn't be in there. Henry pointed at the foot of the bed. "What's that?"

Emma looked where Henry was pointing and saw a tiny curl of purple smoke dissipating. Her eyes widened as it clicked into place. "Oh, damn it."

"What's wrong?" Henry asked. Emma was gripping the doorframe so hard that he half expected it to break off in her hand. Her face was whiter than the sheets.

"Henry," she said in a measured voice that betrayed her fear. "I want you to go downstairs and start your homework. Don't leave the apartment or open the door or the windows or anything. I'll be back soon."

"Wait, what's going on? Where's Mom? Where are you going?"

Emma was halfway down the stairs and pulling on her jacket. "Cora's in Storybrooke. She must have found out about Regina. I've got to go get her back."

"Well, let me come," Henry said. "I can help."

"No, kid. I want you to stay here."

"But I want to be a hero and save my mom."

Emma walked into her parent's bedroom and pulled her father's sword out from under the bed. "Henry, this isn't the 'final battle' or the 'ultimate showdown,'" she said. "This is 'Cora took Regina and I'm going to get her back before something terrible happens.' Got that?"

"It could turn into the final battle and I want a part in that," Henry suggested.

"I promise you that I won't let it become a final battle without you. I just want to get Regina back before Snow and David get home. If that's before something bad happens, then that's just a plus. I will call you if it veers into final battle territory. Deal?"

"Okay," Henry said.

"Thanks," Emma said. "If my parents get back before me, tell them anything but the truth."

"I'll tell them you took Mom out to the zoo to harvest some monkey brains for dinner."

"That works. Wish me luck."

"Good luck. Just remember; you're facing the Evil Queen's worst nightmare. She may not be able to rip your heart out, but she's still pure evil."

Emma paused for a moment. Then she swung the sword with a flourish and forced a smile. "Nice try, but you still have to do your homework."

Henry sighed and unzipped his backpack as Emma forced one foot in front of the other until she got to her car. She figured the best place to look for Cora would be the docks, so she drove in that direction. She let auto-pilot come out and let her mind mull over Henry's last words. He was right; she was facing a sight that would have made the Evil Queen tremble. Emma was so screwed.

~*oO0Oo*~

It took every ounce of courage Regina had to keep from trembling or bursting into tears. Even now, she could feel the constant tug of toddlerhood at the corners of her mind. But she was not going to give her mother the satisfaction. She could be strong. She would be alright.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Hook asked. He looked the same as Regina remembered him. Except now he was standing next to her mother. Other than that, it seemed like the years had been kind to him.

"Hook, you remember my daughter," Cora said. She moved aside so that the pirate could see the little girl hiding behind her skirts. "Regina, darling, this is Captain Hook."

"I know who he is, Mother," Regina snapped. She was proud of herself for keeping her voice steady.

Cora looked taken aback for a brief moment, but she was quick to regain her composure. "Of course you do."

Hook mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "I need rum," before taking a swig from the flask at his hip and walking away.

"What did you bring me here for?" Regina demanded.

"Well, dear," Cora started. "I wanted to talk to you."

Regina rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You know, I had almost forgotten there was a time when you were simply an adorable child instead of the gorgeous young lady you became."

"Flattery will not get you anywhere."

"Of course it won't. You were always too smart for that," Cora said. "I brought you here because I've been watching you."

"So I suppose we're just going to pretend there was nothing creepy in that last sentence," Regina said. She was struggling to stay in control of her own mind, but Cora didn't notice. She just continued talking.

"You and I both know that you aren't happy. We know that the Charmings…well, Snow and her prince, really don't accept you and that Henry is still pulling away from you and reaching for Emma."

"What's your point?" Regina asked.

"My point is that I can help you," Cora said with a sickly sweet smile. "I can help fix this…unfortunate mishap of yours and I can help you get Henry back. I can help you find your happiness."

"No," Regina snapped.

"Dear, all I want to do is help you. That's all I've ever wanted to do."

Regina faltered for a moment. She willed herself to say something, anything, but she couldn't fight it. She felt herself losing control and the next thing she knew, she heard herself speak in a much younger, more innocent voice. "Mommy?"

~*oO0Oo*~

Emma kept glancing over at the sword on the seat next to her. She swallowed back the fear that was creeping up inside her and parked the car on the side of the road next to the docks.

She forced herself to get up and grab the sword. It was shiny and lighter than she had expected with a blade sharp enough to cut through bone. She hoped that she wouldn't have to use it for that.

Emma walked along the docks trying to find the Jolly Roger. Seriously, how hard could it be to find a pirate ship in a modern harbor? It turned out to be pretty hard. She stood by a barrel for a moment trying to think of where on earth a man with Hook's intelligence could have hidden the ship.

She stared at a rat that was sniffing around at the edge of the dock. All of a sudden, the rat took a step over the water and disappeared. Of course! Cora must have put a cloaking spell of some sort on the ship. Emma hefted the sword and crept forward. She hesitantly stepped out over the water and grinned when her foot hit a gangplank.

She kept going and emerged on the deck of the Jolly Roger. It was bare of all life save for the rat that was chewing at a piece of rope.

Emma looked around. She whipped around at the sound of a board creaking under a foot. Cora was standing there with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Emma, dear. I haven't seen you in a while."

"What did you do to Regina?" Emma snapped.

"Oh, nothing," Cora said dismissively. "She's fine. Well, maybe not _fine_, but I didn't do anything to her."

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked. She had a bad feeling about where this was heading.

"Come here, sweetheart," Cora said. She held out a hand and Emma watched as Regina stepped forward. Her eyes were big and scared. They were Gina's eyes.

"Emma?" Gina asked quietly.

Emma nodded and then turned to Cora. "Let her go."

"I don't see why I should. All I'm doing is helping her." Cora's voice was very matter-of-fact. "None of you see her as anything other than the Evil Queen. I'm only going to help her win back her son."

"That's not true," Emma said. "She's changing and even though my parents might not be able to see it, I do and Henry definitely does. She doesn't need you anymore."

Gina's head was bowed, but Emma could see the tears hitting the deck. She was amazed that a toddler could cry silently and for a brief moment, she wondered what Cora had done to her to mess her up so much.

"Let…her…go," Emma commanded. She brandished the sword that would be of little use if Cora decided to attack her.

Gina looked up. Her eyes were sparkling and tear tracks made paths down her cheeks. "Please, Mommy," she whispered.

Cora glared at Emma, but grudgingly let go of her daughter's hand. Gina stood stock still for a moment, but once she was sure her mother wasn't going to grab her, she bolted across the deck and stood behind Emma.

"I swear that if you ever try to take her again, I'll…"

"You'll what?" Cora asked with a smile. "Attempt to stab me with a flimsy piece of metal when I can use magic?"

"You can't rip my heart out," Emma snapped.

"You're right," Cora said. She disappeared in a puff of purple smoke and materialized about a foot away from Emma's face. Before she could react, the older woman plunged her hand into Emma's chest and wrapped a hand around her heart. "But I sure can give it a squeeze."

Cora squeezed the heart and Emma screamed. Gina stumbled back. Cora twisted her hand. Emma fell to her knees, but still the witch refused to let go. Emma tried to break away, but it wasn't working. Then suddenly she felt the hand pull away.

Emma gasped and blinked a little. The world swam in front of her eyes. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. Gina was standing in front of Cora kicking the older woman in the shin. "No!" she cried. "No more hearts!"

Cora looked shocked. She looked down at the little girl and stepped back. "Fine," she said to Emma. "Take her. But she's my daughter and I will get her back one way or another."

Emma grabbed Gina's hand and pointed the sword at Cora's chest. She didn't let her guard down until she and Gina were off of the ship and on the docks.

"That was an incredibly stupid move on your part," Regina snapped.

"How long have you been yourself?" Emma asked.

"I changed after about three kicks," Regina said. "But it was fun."

"Are you alright? What did she do to you?"

"I'm fine. She didn't…I'm fine. Where's Henry?"

"He's back at the apartment doing his homework." Regina gave Emma a disbelieving look. "I'm serious! It took a little convincing and I had to promise to let him in on the final battle, but he's doing his homework."

"Can we just go home?" Regina asked. She swiped at her eyes and ran a hand through her messy black curls.

"Yeah," Emma said. "Let's go home."

~*oO0Oo*~

"Hey, Henry," Emma said as she walked into the apartment with Regina in front of her. "Are they home yet?"

"Nope," Henry said. "But I think I hear a car pulling up outside." He looked over at Regina. "Hey, Mom. Are you alright?"

Regina didn't say anything. She just walked over to the table, climbed up onto the chair next to Henry and wrapped her arms tightly around her son. After a second, he returned the hug. Emma smiled as she watched the exchange. They broke apart just as the door swung open.

"How was everyone's day?" Snow asked.

"Did you guys have a good day?" David asked.

"I'll explain later," Emma said. "Let's have some dinner first, though."

~*oO0Oo*~

"You got beaten by a bloody toddler," Hook said. He sauntered out of the shadows with a smug smirk frozen on his face.

"I just wasn't expecting it," Cora said. "How much of it did you see?"

"I watched the whole thing and there is not enough rum in the world to make it seem like you won."

"You're drunk," Cora remarked.

"Very much so," Hook replied. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm not sure," Cora admitted. "But I will have my daughter back."

~*oO0Oo*~

"Wow," David said. Emma had just finished recounting the afternoon's events. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," Emma replied. "Call me crazy, but I don't think Cora's going to be trying something like that for a while."

Regina was upstairs. The day's events had left her so stressed and tired that she had gone to bed immediately after dinner.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Snow asked. Her voice oozed concern and she placed a hand over her daughter's.

"I told you everything," Emma said. "And I'm sure. We're both kind of shaken, but we're fine."

"And I get to help in the final battle!" Henry exclaimed.

Snow and David both shot their daughter a pointed look to which Emma simply shrugged. "He wasn't going to let me leave unless he got to help. Besides, I think if it comes down to some big final battle, we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Can we not talk about this right now?" Snow asked. "I don't even want to think about anything like that."

"Okay," Henry said. "What are we doing to tomorrow?"

"Look how smoothly he changes the subject," Emma said. "I've been training him well."

"What's tomorrow?" David asked. "I mean, it's Saturday, but is there anything special going on?"

The expression on Snow's face said she was putting two and two together. "Oh," she whispered.

Henry gave a small smile. "It's Mom's birthday."

* * *

**So was it worth the wait? I'm proud of it and I hope you all liked it too. Next chapter will obviously be kind of fluffy and it's almost done, so you can look for that coming up soon. Thanks for reading and please leave a review. I love you all! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I know I promised this to you a few days ago, but I haven't had much of a chance to work on this. But anyway, it's up now. It's pretty much just fluff, but it does help to move the plot along. **

**Also, if you want to see Regina's dress, you can check it out on my tumblr (candyapple75)  
****post/44990577396/reginas-pink-dress-from-all-magic-comes-with-a**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"It's her what?" Emma asked in disbelief.

"It's her birthday," Henry repeated. "Are we going to do anything?"

"I…I don't know," Snow said. "I suppose we have to do something, but we don't have enough time to plan anything."

"Call me crazy here," Emma started. "But I don't think Regina was much of the party type before all this happened and I highly doubt that she's going to want one now."

"We could just get a cake and a few presents," David said. "You know, just have a nice dinner here."

"We could make breakfast and cards and cake!" Henry exclaimed. "And we can sing Happy Birthday."

"Sounds good to me," Emma said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am exhausted. I'm going to bed. G'night."

"Good night, Emma," Snow said.

"You should go up too," David said looking at Henry.

"But I'm not even tired," Henry complained.

"Even future kings need sleep."

"Fine." Henry stood up and trudged up the stairs with Snow and David not far behind.

~*oO0Oo*~

"Henry, you'll know better than I do," Snow said. "What kind of cake should we get for Regina?"

"Granny's triple chocolate chunk cake. It's her favorite. And get vanilla ice cream and root beer and hamburgers."

"Are you sure you're not thinking of yourself here, kid?" Emma asked without looking up from her bowl of Cheerios.

"I'm sure. Mom always used to have chocolate cake and root beer floats and hamburgers on her birthday. If it was my birthday, we'd have ice cream cake and milkshakes and ice cream sundaes."

"Of course," Emma said. "How could I have missed that?"

"You two are on breakfast duty," David said. "Snow and I are going to go raid the pawn shop."

"What?" Emma asked. Her head shot up and she whipped around to look at her parents. "You're raiding the pawn shop?"

"Everything that came over with the curse is still there. We'll try and find something to give her."

"And what if Gina is the one to walk downstairs?"

"I'm going to check out the toy shop and get something for Gina too," Snow said. "Now make her some breakfast before she wakes up. We're not going to deprive her of her birthday just because none of us really like her."

"Whatever," Emma said. "We'll make something."

"Thanks. Have fun!" Snow called as she walked out the door.

"So, Emma. What should we make?" Henry asked.

"The extent of my culinary skill is microwaving soup, making cereal, cooking bacon and toasting frozen waffles," Emma said.

"How about scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and apple cider?"

"Kid, I think you have officially gone off the deep end." Then she shrugged. "Let's go for it. Do you have any idea how to make any of that?"

"I can make eggs and toast and apple cider is just juiced apples, right?"

"Sure. I'll make the bacon. Go grab me a pan please."

"Okay," Henry said. He ran over to the cabinet, pulled out a pan and handed it to Emma who was turning on the radio.

"You ready?" she asked. Henry nodded quickly. "Well then let's get this show on the road."

~*oO0Oo*~

About half an hour later, Henry headed up the stairs with a plate in his hands. It was eight thirty and Regina was still asleep. The previous day's events had obviously terrified her. Plus it was her birthday. What was the point of making her get up early?

"Mom?" Henry asked. He shifted the plate to his other hand and reached down to touch Regina's arm. The little girl's eyes popped open.

"Henry? What are you doing up here?" Regina asked, her voice still hoarse from sleep.

"Happy Birthday! Emma helped me make you breakfast," Henry said proudly.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Regina said. She sat up and Henry handed her the plate. She surveyed the breakfast and then looked back up at Henry. "What is it?"

"Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon and apple cider."

All Regina saw on the plate was a charred piece of toast and a few blackened strips of bacon. "Sweetheart, where are the eggs and the cider?"

"Emma kind of told me not to tell you about those."

Regina closed her eyes for a second and then remembered that it wasn't her kitchen and she reminded herself that she didn't care.

"I made you a card, too," Henry said. He smiled as he handed her a simple card made of folded paper. The front read Happy Birthday Mom. Regina opened the card and felt a smile creeping across her lips as she read the message:

_Dear Mom,_

_Happy Birthday! I'm really proud of you for not using magic and for saving Emma and Gramma. I love you!_

_Love, Henry_

It was just a simple note, but Regina reached up and wrapped her small arms around her son's neck. "I love you, Henry."

"I love you too," Henry said returning the hug.

"Hey kid, I got the eggs unstuck from the pan!" Emma called from the bottom of the stairs. "Do you want to come down and get them?"

"I'll be down in a second!" Henry called back.

"Go ahead," Regina said. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

Henry nodded and raced downstairs. As soon as he was gone, Regina grabbed the plate and stood up on Emma's bed so that she could reach the window. She pushed it open and scraped the burned breakfast into the bushes below. Not even Henry could get her to eat that.

She got down off the bed and headed downstairs still in her Hello Kitty pajamas.

"Happy Birthday," Emma said when she saw Regina. She set down the frying pan that she was attempting to scrape something-most likely the eggs-out of and walked over to the little girl. "Snow and David should be back soon."

"Do I want to know where they are?" Regina asked.

"Yes, but you probably don't think you want to," Emma teased as she walked back into the kitchen.

Regina rolled her eyes and climbed up onto the couch. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Henry didn't take any notice of the show, but Emma came in when she heard a southern drawl fill the room.

"Are you watching Here Comes Honey Boo Boo?" she asked.

"So what if I am?" Regina countered.

"I just…I didn't think you'd be into something like that."

"And what did you think I would watch?"

Emma thought for a moment, choosing her next words carefully. "I always thought you were one of those people that just never really watched TV except for horror movies and soap operas." At the raised eyebrow from Regina, she said, "What? I got you to go to bed the other night by promising to let you watch JAWS and don't all grandmothers watch soap operas?"

"You know what?" Regina started.

Luckily she didn't get to finish as Snow and David came in. David was balancing a cake box in one arm and had grocery bags hanging off of the other. Snow had plain plastic bags in her hands.

"We're back," Snow declared. "How's everyone?"

"We're fine," Henry said shooting a look that made him look more like Regina than was biologically possible at both his mothers. Then he smiled at his grandparents. "What'd you get?"

~*oO0Oo*~

"Okay, before we have cake, I have one question," Emma said. She turned to look at Regina. "How old are you?"

"I'm…I don't know," Regina said.

"You're turning four, thirty-five and sixty-three all at the same time," Emma said. "How old are you?"

"I'm thirty-five," Regina finally declared.

"You look amazing for your age," David said. Snow, Emma and Henry giggled and even Regina cracked a smile.

"Can we have cake now?" Henry asked. His mouth was practically watering as Snow set the triple chocolate chunk cake on the table and lit the blue star-shaped candle."

"Make a wish," Emma said.

Regina closed her eyes for a moment and then blew out the candle.

"Let's eat!" Henry declared. Snow cut pieces of the cake and passed them around the table.

"So what'd you wish for?" Emma asked as she stabbed her fork into her cake.

"I can't tell you or it won't come true," Regina retorted taking a bite of her own cake.

"I just hope you made a good one. After all, for all we know, it might actually come true. Which would suck if you had been Gina and you wished for a giant pony or something."

Regina froze at Emma's words and she dropped her fork.

"Regina?" Snow asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Regina said. "Everything's fine."

"Oh no," Emma said, her eyes widening. "What did you wish for?"

Of course, that was the exact moment that Gina decided to make an appearance. "Mm, cake!" she exclaimed. She grabbed a handful of cake and shoved it into her mouth.

"Wonderful," Emma said. "She probably wished for some type magical creature to come eat us all."

"Oh, hush," Snow said. "Charming, can you go get the presents out of our room? And get the other thing too."

"Sure. I'll be right back." He got up and headed into the bedroom. A moment later he emerged with a small pile of wrapped boxes in one hand. The other arm was holding something behind his back.

"Gina, baby," Snow said. "Are you ready to open presents?"

Gina nodded vigorously and Snow smiled. "Why don't we clean you up a little bit first, okay? Come on into the bathroom and we'll wash off the cake."

Snow took Gina's chocolate-covered hand and led the way into the bathroom stopping to grab whatever it was that David was holding behind his back. A few minutes later, the pair returned and Emma nearly choked on her root beer.

"She's so cute!" Henry exclaimed.

"She looks like she got eaten by a cupcake, Emma said.

"She looks like I need to start taking pictures before she changes back," David said pulling the camera out of his pocket and training it on the little girl.

Emma took in the site of Gina in the horrendous pink dress covered in frills, ruffles and bows. "Do I look like a pwincess?" she asked twirling around.

"Sure, Gina. You look like just like a princess," Emma said. Then she turned to Snow. "Why?"

"I just took advantage of the situation," Snow replied. "It's not like I forced her into it." Emma glared at her mother and then turned to watch Gina twirl in front of David's camera. Henry was watching with a look of mixed shock and happiness on his face.

"Do you ever wonder how much therapy Henry's going to need when he gets older?" Emma asked Snow softly.

"Well, I think it all started when my grandmother dressed my adopted mother, who was in toddler form at the time, in a frilly, pink dress and my grandfather started taking pictures," Snow said with a smile. Emma couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of her.

"Can I open pwesents now?" Gina asked running over to the table.

"Of course, sweetheart," Snow said. She helped the little girl back up into her chair and handed her a wrapped box. Gina tore off the wrapping paper and her face broke into a pearly grin at the sight of a shining tiara sitting on a bed of tissue paper.

Snow lifted the tiara out of the box and placed it on Gina's head only to have it slip down around her neck like a necklace. "I guess it's a little big," Snow said.

"No it isn't!" Gina insisted. She grabbed the tiara and set it on her head, sliding it back a little so that it stayed put. "See?"

"It looks beautiful," Emma said. She noticed David snapping pictures. "Smile for David."

The little girl turned and smiled for the camera as it flashed. Henry was handing her another present wrapped in plan white paper.

"Here," he said. "Open this one."

Gina ripped at the paper and pulled open the box revealing a necklace that consisted of a handcrafted red clay heart on a black leather cord. "Fank you, Henny," Gina said.

She pulled the necklace over her head. It hung down to the middle of her belly. Emma looked at him and Henry shrugged. "I made it for Mom. I didn't know she was going to be a toddler when I gave it to her."

Gina spent the next few minutes tearing open boxes that contained various stuffed animals and toys while Snow and Emma made a silent agreement to give Regina her presents tomorrow.

It was nearing nine o'clock when Gina finally finished.

"I think it's time for a certain little princess to get to bed," David said when he caught a yawn on camera.

"But I'm not…" Gina trailed off and blinked a few times. Snow and Emma both exchanged _Oh crap _looks and then turned back to the little girl.

"What's going on?" Regina asked. "How long was I…" she looked down at her dress and then back up to glare at Snow and Emma. Her eyes were narrowed and her arms were crossed. She would have actually looked threatening had the tiara not slipped down around her neck at that moment.

Emma fought back the urge to giggle as she said, "Gina wanted it."

"Well I don't. Take it off. Now."

"You look kind of cute, Mom," Henry said.

"She looks like a pink nightmare," David whispered.

"I heard that," Regina snapped. "And I'm not cute."

"Whatever," Emma said. "It's bedtime anyway."

"Wait," Regina said. "When do I get to finish opening my presents?"

"Tomorrow. Now come on." Emma picked the little girl up and was a bit shocked when Regina didn't even try to protest. "Hey. What did you wish for anyway?"

"Don't worry about it," Regina said. "It wasn't a big deal."

"Well just as long as I don't get eaten in my sleep by a jabberwocky or something, I'm good."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Regina asked. She was now standing on the bedroom floor tugging at one of the ruffles on her dress.

"Nothing," Emma said pulling the tiara over the soft black curls and setting it on the dresser. "Happy Birthday."

* * *

**Aw, birthday cuteness. Next chapter should be up soon, but I'm not making any promises for exact days. Please review and I'll write to you all soon! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sunday night's episode actually gave me an idea for a new direction to take this that I think will end it a little better. Also, Regina's wish from last chapter will remain a secret for now (mostly because I think it might lead into a sequel sort-of thing).**

**Anyway, that's all I have to say so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Emma's eyes snapped open and scanned the room. Everything was still dark and quiet. Regina was still in bed. So why had she woken up? Then she heard the phone ring. She grabbed the clock on the nightstand and blinked until it came into focus. It was 2:38 A.M.

"Somebody better be dying," Emma grumbled as she rolled out of her bed, walked downstairs and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Miss Swan?" It was Gold. "I have news."

"Can't it wait for another six hours?" Emma asked.

"It could, but I figured you might want to hear this immediately."

"Fine. What is it?"

"I may have found a way to turn Regina back into herself."

Emma snapped to attention and glanced upstairs. "Are you serious? You can turn her back?"

"I believe so," Gold said.

"How?"

"It would require a great deal of magic, but I believe I can manage it."

"Is anyone going to die so that you can get your hands on that magic?"

"No one is going to die, Miss Swan. I can assure you that this will not involve any…innocent parties."

"When can you do it?" Emma asked.

Gold paused for a moment and then said, "Give me three days to perfect it and then I'll do it."

"Is there any way to get it done faster?" Emma asked. "Cora and Hook are here. They got Regina two days ago now and I don't know why Cora let her go, but she did. I have a feeling that next time won't be as easy."

Gold was silent for a long minute. Just as Emma was beginning to think he had hung up on her, she heard him speak. "Cora's here." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah."

"I do still need time to gather all of the magic necessary for the spell, but I'll call you as soon as I can do it."

"Thanks," Emma said. "I for one do not want to be facing the Evil Queen's nightmare without said Evil Queen being able to use magic to protect us."

"Indeed. Good night, Miss Swan," Gold said.

"G'night," Emma said. She hung up, but she kept the phone in her hands for a long moment. She looked around the living room. Even after such a short while, it already looked like the home of a four-year-old. There were toys and stuffed animals spilling out of the cardboard box in the corner, crumbs on the floor and couch and Gina's scribbled drawings on the fridge.

Emma took a step forward and felt a Cheerio crunch under her foot. She knew that if Regina went back to normal, things would be the same as they always had. Regina would want nothing to do with 'Emma and the two idiots'. She'd just want Henry.

There was also a tiny part of Emma that wanted Gina to stick around. It would be weird at first, but the little girl was so innocent and whole and unbroken. She could have a second chance and maybe she could get her happy ending. It seemed like the whole town was willing to forgive her when she was a toddler, but if she turned back to an adult, would she have the same chance?

Emma took a deep breath and set the phone down on the counter. She was up now and there was no way she was going to be able to fall back asleep so she started making coffee.

Emma was sitting on the couch staring at the black TV screen when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Emma?" a small voice asked.

She turned around and saw Henry standing there. "Hey, kid. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Henry said. "I just had a weird dream."

"Bad weird or weird weird?" Emma asked. She scooted over and patted the couch next to her so that he could sit down.

"Bad weird I guess," Henry said as he sat down next to her.

"You wanna talk about it? It might make you feel better."

"Alright," Henry said. He looked like he was going to start saying something, but then he closed his mouth and sat there staring at his hands for a moment.

"You know if this discussion's going to be one-sided, I can have it just as well with my coffee," Emma said. She cracked a smile so Henry would know she was joking.

"It's just…what if we never change Mom back?" Henry blurted. He sank back into the couch cushions as though he regretted speaking.

Emma set her coffee down on the coffee table and wrapped her arms around the boy. "I just got off the phone a little while ago with Mr. Gold. Would you like to know what he said?" Henry nodded against her chest. "Well, he said that he thinks he found a way to change her back."

"For real?" Henry asked leaning back and looking up at Emma.

"For real. He said it might take a few days to get it ready, but he sounded pretty sure that it would work."

"But what if it doesn't?"

"Well then we'll just have to find a new option. Besides, Gold said the fairy dust would wear off eventually."

"She took in a year's worth," Henry said. "It'll take at least that long for it all to wear off."

"Look," Emma said. "Can I be honest with you?" Henry nodded. "I don't particularly like your mom. I have no doubt in my mind that she was a good mother, but I don't like her. It could be because of the numerous rounds of Extreme Mega Bitch-fest that we had to play we I first got here. It could be the fact that she killed Graham or that she's the Evil Queen. Hell, maybe it's just a family instinct. But I know that she's your mom and if she loves you half as much as I do, it would kill her if I kept you from her forever."

Henry stifled a yawn and Emma cut to the point. "The point is that I know the two of you love each other and you need each other and I will do whatever it takes to make it so that you two can be together."

"Promise?" he asked.

"Promise," Emma said. "Now I'm wired and you're crashing. One of us needs to get to bed and it sure isn't me."

"Okay," Henry yawned. He stood up and stretched before turning towards the stairs. "G'night."

"G'night, kid. Get some sleep," Emma said. She grabbed her coffee again and turned back to the blank TV screen.

~*oO0Oo*~

Around six in the morning, Snow came downstairs. "You're up early," she said when she saw Emma on the couch.

"You have no idea," Emma said. She took a sip of her cold coffee and turned around. "Gold called around three this morning."

"He did?" Snow asked. "What did he want?"

"He said he found a way to change her back."

Snow put a hand on the back of the couch. "Really?"

"Yeah. It might take a few days, but I told him Cora was here and he said he'd hurry it up."

"That's…that's great," Snow said, but her voice lacked enthusiasm.

"You don't sound excited."

"Neither do you."

Emma and Snow stared at each other for a moment as though trying to read the other's mind.

"I don't want…" Emma and Snow said at the same time.

"You go first," Snow said.

"Alright," Emma started. "I don't know if I really want her to change back."

"I'm the same way," Snow said. "I never had the best relationship with Regina and I sort of like it like this."

"Yeah," Emma said. "But I guess we both have to suck it up and deal with her again. Cora's here and if it's going to come down to something big, we'll need her and her magic. Plus as much as Henry tries to pretend he doesn't love her, he does. They need each other."

"It was nice to get to play mother for a little while though," Snow said.

"I guess."

They were silent for a long while before David stumbled down the stairs. He looked from his wife to his daughter and noted the somber expressions. "Who died?" he joked.

Snow and Emma turned to him with solemn faces. "Oh crap," he said. "Who died?"

"No one," Emma said. "Well, maybe Gina."

"What?"

"Emma talked to Gold this morning," Snow explained. "He thinks he can change her back."

"That's good, isn't it?" David asked.

"Yeah," Emma said. "It's a good thing."

~*oO0Oo*~

Regina took note of the serious mood from the moment she woke up. It didn't seem like that big of a deal, but she felt like she was out of the loop about something.

After a breakfast of eggs that Emma had no part in making, Henry suggested a Disney movie marathon.

"I'd love to, kid, but David seems incapable of doing paperwork of any kind, so we have to play catch-up at the station," Emma said.

David had the grace to look guilty as he followed his daughter outside, but he mouthed _Have fun. _to his grandson before he left.

"Can we though, Gramma?" Henry asked.

"Go ahead," Snow sighed. "Regina, are you going to watch with him?"

Regina looked at Henry who was eagerly pushing the first disc into the DVD player. "I suppose."

"Alright," Snow said. "I'm going to go read. I'll be right in my bedroom if you need anything."

Regina nodded and then scrambled up onto the couch. "What are we watching first?"

Henry looked down at the case of the DVD he had just put in. "Cinderella," he said. He looked over at the pile of movies he had gotten for Christmas. "Then Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Mulan and Snow White."

"All of them?" Regina asked warily.

"I'm gonna watch all of them and if you turn four again, I bet you'll like them."

"I suppose I will," Regina said as she settled onto the couch. She didn't notice that Henry hadn't referred to her four-year-old persona as Gina. She just tugged on the blanket hanging on the back of the couch and wrapped it clumsily around herself as Henry pressed play.

~*oO0Oo*~

"I swear that somewhere there is a part of Hell that has people doing paperwork for all eternity," Emma said as she and David entered the apartment.

"It wasn't _that _bad," David insisted.

"I've been up since three in the morning, am practically thriving on caffeine right now and spent the entire day doing paperwork," Emma snapped. "It was definitely that bad."

"Shush!" Henry said turning briefly from the TV where Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was playing. Regina was curled up under a blanket with her head barely touching Henry's leg.

"Sorry," Emma said. "Gina?"

"No," Henry said. "At least, I don't think so."

"Where's Snow?" David asked.

"I'm right here," Snow said coming into the room. "How'd the paperwork go?"

"It was horrible," Emma said.

"Paperwork is getting done as it comes in from now on," David said. "I honestly don't ever want to have to do that again."

There was a soft rustling from the couch and Emma, David and Snow looked over to see Regina stretching and blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"Oh good," Emma said. "You're awake. I have something I have to tell you."

"Emma, what are you…" David started, but he was interrupted by the ringing of the phone.

"I got it!" Emma exclaimed. She grabbed the phone and clicked it on. "Hello?"

"Miss Swan?" It was Gold again.

"Can you do it?" she asked, deciding to cut right to the chase.

"Yes. It took me much less time than I anticipated and I believe I will be able to do it."

"When?" Emma asked. She could feel four pairs of eyes burning into her wanting to kow who she was talking to and what she was talking about.

"Depends when you can get Regina to come down to the shop."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"We'll be right down," Emma said.

"I look forward to it," Gold said before hanging up.

Emma hung up the phone and turned around slowly to face her family.

"What was that all about?" Regina demanded.

"That was Gold," Emma said quietly. "He can do it."

David, Snow and Henry all looked at Regina who was still utterly confused. "What can he do besides screw us all over?"

Emma stepped a little closer and looked directly into the little girl's chocolate eyes. "He can change you back."

* * *

**There you go. This one got away from me and there wasn't a whole lot of Regina/Gina, but like I said, I'm taking this is a slightly different direction, so bear with me. I hope you enjoyed this and let it be known that I have big plans for the last few chapters! **

**Also, to my followers of Message Sent, that update's coming soon. It seems like the universe is dead set on keeping it from being posted, but it's coming.**

**Please review and I'll have another chapter for you all soon! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Guys, two things. First, it has been forever since the last update and for that I'm very sorry. But I'm here now and planning on getting the next few chapters done really quickly. ****Second, there is fanart. I kid you not, there is an adorable drawing for this fic which you can see on my tumblr (evil-apple-candy)  
****/post/46498797248/i-read-all-magic-comes-with-a-pr ice-by-candyapple75#notes**

**Third, this story has OVER 200 FOLLOWERS! This my first story to ever get that high, so thank you to everyone who's putting up with me and my random updates. I love you all so much!**

**Anyway, we're heading towards the end of this which I'm actually really excited for, but I anticipate a few more chapters before the very end. Okay, I suppose I'll shut up now and let you read. Enjoy!**

* * *

"He can change me back," Regina said. It wasn't a question, but Emma nodded anyway. "Are you sure we can trust him? He might change me back but give me a toddler's brain."

"I hate to say it, but she has a point," David said. "Besides, didn't he say it would take a few days to gather all the magic? How does he just suddenly have it now?"

Snow nodded and looked like she was going to respond, but a glare from Emma silenced her.

"Look," Emma said. "Shut up." Regina closed her mouth, crossed her arms and shot the blonde an adorable death glare. "Look. I'm just as skeptical as you guys, but right now we have no other options. Cora's here and we need to do something. If Gold screws this up, we'll just find something else, but we need to try it. Now I'm taking Regina to the pawn shop. Any objections?"

The room was completely silent. Emma swore she heard crickets in the background.

"Good," she said. "Come on, Regina."

"I'm not going down there in _pajamas_," Regina said pronouncing the word as though she was saying 'anaconda' or 'tarantula'.

"Would you prefer to go down there in the pink dress that Snow made you wear on your birthday?"

Regina clenched her fists, but then a smile spread across her face.

"Gina?" Snow asked uncertainly.

"No," Regina replied. "I'm just thinking about all of the gruesome ways I could enact my revenge if Gold does figure out how to change me back."

"Fine," Emma sighed. "Run upstairs and get changed. Can you manage?"

"Of course," Regina snapped. With that she slid off the couch and raced up the stairs leaving Snow, David and Henry all staring open-mouthed at Emma.

"We're really going to trust Gold?" Snow asked.

"Hey," Emma said. "Cora's here. We really don't have much of a choice here. We really have to get Regina back no matter what it takes."

"What if something happens to her?" Henry asked. Up until this point he had been silent, but his eyes were wide with fear. "You can't let him hurt her. She's my mom."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to your mom, kid," Emma said. "I promise. Do you want to come to the pawn shop with us?"

"Sure," Henry said.

"Alright, go grab your coat then and we'll leave as soon as your mom gets down."

Henry raced off to the closet to grab his coat and Snow grabbed Emma's arm. "Just be careful. Gold is capable of more than anyone knows."

"We'll be fine," Emma replied. At that moment, Regina came rushing down the stairs in a sparkly purple t-shirt with the necklace from Henry looped several times around her neck.

"Let's go," she said quickly.

"Alright. Let's go."

Henry and Emma headed outside with Regina following. She paused in the doorway for a moment. Snow and David watched the little girl wrestle with the desire to turn back, but she didn't. They watched the small head of black curls walk out of the apartment. Possibly forever.

~*oO0Oo*~

The drive to Gold's shop was short and quiet. Regina didn't even protest when Emma announced they were taking the bug. The trio was all wondering the exact same thing. Would it work?

When they pulled up to the pawn shop, Emma stayed frozen in the seat for a moment. Regina was fumbling desperately with her seat belt buckle so that she could get out. Emma glanced at Henry in the seat next to her.

The boy looked nervous and excited at the same time. He met Emma's eyes briefly and then unbuckled his own seat belt so that he could slip out. Regina let out a triumphant cackle when the buckle finally gave. She slid out of the car and stood on the sidewalk next to Henry. They both stared at the ominous door of the pawn shop as though it was the entrance to some evil beast's lair.

"So I guess we should go in," Emma said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"What other choice do we have?" Regina asked. Her jaw was clenched and her hands were balled into fists at her sides.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked.

"I'm fine," Regina replied curtly. She squeezed her eyes shut briefly and then opened them again. "Let's get this done quickly."

Emma pushed the door open and the trio walked into the shop. Gold was waiting behind the counter.

"Well then," he said. "Are we ready?"

"You're sure that this will work?" Emma asked. She stepped unconsciously in front of Regina and stared the pawnbroker directly in the eyes.

"Well, Miss Swan, we all know that magic is extremely unstable in its purest form. Here in Storybrooke, it's unpredictable at best. I can do my best and with Cora here, that's all that we'll need."

Henry chimed in then with a question. "What if she ends up an adult with her four-year-old mind?"

"Well then we'll have a toddler who can do magic," Gold replied with a hint of a smile. "But I don't think that will happen. Now Regina, I need you to stay still."

He limped out from behind the counter and stood directly in front of the small girl. Regina, who had been looking more and more shaken since they entered the shop, was obviously not okay anymore. She was shaking. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her hands were white and her teeth were gritted.

Emma realized that she was fighting something off. Was it possible for Regina to actually hold Gina back?

She didn't have long to think about this new development before Gold raised a fairy wand above his head. Emma had a brief moment to think that maybe something was off about an imp having a fairy's wand, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead she watched as a strange red smoke appeared and swirled around Regina. It reached towards the ceiling and then dissipated revealing the crumpled form of a woman laying on the floor.

"Mom?" Henry asked. He sank down onto the floor next to Regina who was thankfully clothed in her usual business attire. The necklace was still looped around her neck. "What's going on? Is she okay?"

Emma looked from Gold to Henry with nothing but question in her eyes. Then Regina started to stir. She lifted her head up and looked around.

"What's going on?" she asked. She lifted a hand to her face and examined it. She conjured a fireball in her hand and her face broke into a wide, uncharacteristic grin. "It worked."

"It did," Emma said. She turned to Gold. "You really did it."

"My pleasure," Gold replied. He stowed the wand back under the counter. "Now I suggest someone come up with some form of a plan to defeat Cora."

"I've got nothing," Emma said. "Anyone else is welcome to chime in with suggestions."

"What if we built an Iron Man suit and then opened a portal to space and threw her in like in the Avengers movie with the missile?" Henry asked.

"I don't think that's possible even with magic," Emma said. "But it would be pretty cool. If your mom can make that happen, I wouldn't be against it."

"I don't think so," Regina said. She was leaning heavily on Henry's shoulder as she stood on wobbly legs. "I don't know how we would defeat her. She's just too…" Her voice trailed off and her expression changed. Emma recognized it instantly and she turned on Gold.

"What did you do?"

"I warned you that it might not work entirely according to plan," Gold replied calmly. "I'll try to find some other way to fix it, but I can't guarantee anything."

"What am I missing?" Henry asked.

Regina held her palm out in front of her and let the fire dance there. Emma, Gold and Henry stared at her with varying degrees of fear on their faces as she giggled childishly.

"It tickles!"

* * *

**Again, I apologize for the super long delay and just know that it won't take near this long to post the next update. In the meantime, please review. Love you all!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well that episode was not as painful as I thought it was going to be and in honor of one whole episode in which Regina didn't cry, I've decided to update this for you all. So apparently this is really exciting for you all and I really hope it lives up to your expectations.**

**Un-betaed and written at midnight, so I apologize for any typos.**

* * *

Emma turned on Gold and pinned him against the counter in one fluid motion. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"As I said before, I was not sure whether or not there would be any ill effects," Gold said calmly.

"You…" A string of expletives popped into Emma's head, but she finally sputtered out, "You imp."

"That I am, dearie," he said with a smirk unbefitting of his current position. "I'm sure though that now I can find a simpler way to restore her mind. Think of it as…steps."

"How about I think of it as just another reason why I really want to punch you in the face."

"Guys?" Henry asked uncertainly. He was standing next to Regina who still had a fireball burning on her palm and was giggling as she repeatedly poked the flame.

"It's glowing," Gina proclaimed. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms to show that she was absolutely serious about her new discovery.

"I know it is," Emma said. "Henry, watch her for a minute?"

"I'll get working on a solution right away," Gold said. "I can most likely have something ready by tomorrow evening."

"Oh no," Emma snapped. "There is no way you are touching her again. You said this would all wear off eventually and if we need anymore magic, I will deal with those fairies to get it. Just…I don't know. I knew there was a reason I hated you!"

"As you wish," Gold said. He straightened up and grabbed his cane again. "Enjoy your fairies."

Emma glared at him and then without saying another word she ushered Gina and Henry outside.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" asked Henry. "Maybe he's working with Cora and he wants to weaken her so that Cora can take her! You can't let that happen, Emma. She may be the Evil Queen, but she's my mom and you can't let them hurt her!"

"Slow down, kid," Emma said. She knelt down next to the anxious boy and put a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. "Gold is just a natural-born creeper who enjoys getting revenge for whatever the hell Regina did to him in the past. We don't really need to worry about him. Secondly, I'm not going to let anyone hurt her. I promise."

"Okay," Henry said. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure. Now I think we should go get some ice cream before we go home so I can figure out what to tell my parents. Sound good to…wait a second. Where'd Gina go?"

Emma and Henry both snapped up and looked around to see the not-so-little girl heading slowly wobbling towards a pigeon on the sidewalk. "Birdy, come back!" she cried when it flew away. She tried to run after it, but almost immediately fell in her heels and landed on the ground.

"Oh crap." Emma and Henry raced towards her. Emma reached her first and put an arm on Gina's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Regina snapped. She tugged her arm out of the blonde's grasp and then started to push herself up. The palms of her hands were scraped and there was dirt on her black dress, but other than that she seemed okay. "What happened?"

"Well it looks like Gina isn't gone," Emma said.

"I got that part," Regina said sarcastically. "What did I do?"

"You had a fireball in Gold's shop and you kept saying that it tickled and it glowed. And then you started chasing a pigeon," Henry said. He had finally caught up to the two women and put out a hand to help Regina off of the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm alright. We have to find some way to fix this. This is almost worse than being four."

"Well, at least you have your own body now," Emma offered. "That's a good thing, right?"

"It is until my evil alter ego begins using magic."

"That…that would definitely be bad."

"Are we still going to get ice cream?" Henry asked.

Emma was about to nod, but she made the mistake of glancing at Regina. The brunette was holding back tears. Fear, tiredness and helplessness flashed behind her eyes and there was still dirt on her dress and blood on her hands.

"You know what, kid? Why don't we get some at home? It's been a long day and it's barely three. I think we could all use some relaxing time."

"Okay," Henry agreed. "I'll meet you in the car." With that, he took off running down the sidewalk towards the bug. Emma was tempted to call after him, but she didn't.

"Thank you," Regina said quietly. "I really don't think I could have faced anyone like this."

"Don't mention it," Emma replied. "Besides, as much as I love the ice cream at Granny's, I think what I really need right now is some plain old mint chocolate chip with lots of whipped cream and cherries."

"That…actually sounds really nice," Regina said.

"You know, it's probably going to take some time for me to get used to you being normal-sized again. You were pretty cute though."

"I was, wasn't I?"

"I thought you didn't like to be called cute."

"I didn't. And I still don't. But I'll let it slide this once. If there is Rocky Road."

"Sure," Emma said. "You can have all the Rocky Road you want so long as you keep Gina under wraps. I for one do not want to experience a toddler who can use magic."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you before Gold changed you back. You were fighting her. I know you were. And if you could do it when you were fun-sized, you can do it now too. And if, you know, you happen to figure out a way to kill your mother, that would be awesome too."

"I don't know," Regina said. They had reached the car and she steadied herself with a hand on the roof. She was still adjusting to her new body. "My biggest concern right now is to not destroy the town. I highly doubt the people would be so appreciative of my redemption efforts if that were to happen."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Just get in the car."

~*oO0Oo*~

"Emma Ruth Swan!" Snow exclaimed when Emma, Regina and Henry entered the apartment. Regina-well, Gina-was giggling madly at the flickering ball of light in her palm again. The fire seemed to be her favorite. Snow put a hand to her head and sighed. "What happened?"

"Um…we have the same situation as before only with a full-sized Regina and magic. Needless to say, we are not relying on Gold anymore," Emma explained. "Now where the hell's the ice cream? I need some right now."

"In the fridge. Is she going to keep doing that?"

Snow was staring at the wide-eyed mayor who was waving her hand and forming the fire into different shapes and giggling madly.

"Probably. Who wants ice cream?"

"Me!" Henry and Gina screamed at the same time. Both of them sprinted over to the counter and grabbed the ice cream bowls Emma offered. Then the pair sat down on the couch and dug in.

"Seriously," Emma mused as she dipped her spoon into her own ice cream. "It's a wonder Henry hasn't had a mental breakdown with all the…stuff that's happened to him."

"Well, she did raise him to be strong," Snow said. "He really is her son."

"In all honesty though, I hope this wears off quickly. It's a miracle Regina hasn't started going insane from the constant flip book in her head, but this needs to end."

"We have to stop Cora before we can focus on anything else. Any ideas?"

Emma thought for a long moment. Then it came to her in a flash. "Actually, I think I might just have an idea."

* * *

**I know this is really short, but I wanted to get this up. Next one will be longer and chock-full of so much fluff, you might all suffocate. I think maybe three or four more chapters and then an epilogue and then this will be done. It's sad, but all good things must come to an end. Love you all, please review and I need to sleep now so I don't fall asleep tomorrow. Love you all!**


	15. Chapter 15

**It's been forever and a day since I last updated, but thanks for sticking with it. I'm actually really proud of this one and I'm super excited for the next one. Only two more chapters and then an epilogue of sorts before this is officially over. I'm saving my heartfelt A/N for the end, but I love you all and thanks for being the super awesome readers/reviewers that you are. :)**

* * *

Emma rolled out of bed at half past ten. Even though she had gotten a full night's sleep, she was exhausted. She had spent the night tossing and turning, the stress of the past few weeks catching up to her. She held herself up in the door frame for a moment before heading downstairs for breakfast.

She stopped the second she reached the bottom of the stairs. Her hand went directly to her head and her mouth dropped open.

"What the hell did you guys do?" she asked.

Henry gave a sort of half-smile before he started to explain. "Well, Gramma and Gramps went to talk to the fairies about some stuff and Mom and I got really hungry and she was going to make pancakes, but then Gina happened and she wanted a milkshake so I decided to make her one and then she forgot to put the top on the blender and it got everywhere and that's what happened."

Emma looked at the kitchen which was now coated in a thin layer of chocolate ice cream. "You let a four-year-old use a blender?"

"We tried to have milkshakes for breakfast and that's what you're upset about?" Henry asked.

"Yeah. I'll let your mom deal with the whole 'ice cream for breakfast' part when she makes a reappearance. Besides, I'm speaking as a woman who survived on frozen pizzas and canned soup for ten years, so I really don't care as much as I probably should."

"Cool," Henry said with a smile.

"Gina?" Emma asked hesitantly.

The no-longer-little girl was sitting at the counter with her hands wrapped around the glass jar from the blender. She had a bendy straw bridging the gap between what little milkshake was left and her mouth. There was melted ice cream all over her face and hands, but she looked happy enough.

At Emma's voice, her head snapped up and the straw fell out of her mouth.

"Gina, why don't you go wash your hands real quick and then you can finish your milkshake."

Gina nodded and stood up, taking one last sip of her milkshake before heading into the bathroom.

Once the bathroom door closed, Emma turned to Henry. "Now let's just hope that she cleans herself up before…"

She was cut off by a shriek from the bathroom.

"I guess I spoke too soon." Emma and Henry both raced to the bathroom to see Regina opening the door, staring in horror at her chocolate-covered hands.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Stuff," Emma and Henry supplied quickly.

Regina glanced around the doorway and saw the mess in the kitchen. She started to say something, but then shut her mouth again and walked back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"I'm taking a shower!" she called.

Emma waited until she heard the water start running before turning back to Henry. "Should we clean up a little bit?"

"I guess," Henry said.

Emma sighed and followed him. She grabbed a sponge and started wiping up the mess on the counter when she remembered Henry's words from a few minutes ago. "My parents are talking to the fairies?"

"Yeah. They left about an hour ago. They said that Blue might be able to figure out something."

Emma snorted, but then thought about it. "Maybe she will."

~*o0O0Oo*~

Regina turned off the hot water and grabbed a towel. Now that she had at least cleaned herself up, her brain was starting to focus again.

Her mother was here and obviously wanted her back.

That was enough to make Regina's legs shake. She braced herself on the sink and took a deep breath in. Her head was starting to spin.

_No. _She gritted her teeth and stared at her face in the mirror. _I'm not going to let that happen again._

She was starting to get better at controlling her four-year-old mind. It took a lot of strength and focus, but she could do it for short periods of time.

Regina took a few deep breaths until she was steadier and finished drying off. She heard Henry and Emma talking in the kitchen and knew that they couldn't hear her, so she waved her hand and was dressed instantly. As much as she hated lying to Henry, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

She stepped out of the bathroom and saw Emma and Henry sitting at the counter with spoons, taking spoonfuls of melted ice cream out of the blender.

"What are you doing?" Regina demanded. She placed her hands on her hips and glared sternly at the pair.

"Sorry, Mom," Henry said. He gave Emma a look and started to put the spoons in the sink, but Regina stopped him.

"You don't have to put it away," she said. "But I seem to remember being told that I could finish the ice cream after I cleaned up."

Emma looked confused for a moment, but then she smiled widely and pulled out another spoon. Regina swiped it from the blonde with an indignant look and then dipped it into the blender. She got a spoonful of melted chocolate ice cream and licked it off the spoon with a smile.

~*o0O0o*~

"There's no spells or anything that you know that could fix her?" David asked.

Blue smiled sadly. "No. Mr. Gold and Regina herself would be the only two powerful enough to amass the magic needed to change her back. I'm sorry, your majesty, but it's beyond my capabilities."

"Well is there anything that might help us against Cora?" Snow asked.

Again Blue looked doubtful. "Cora is just as powerful as they are, if not more. Going up against her would be suicide."

"So you can't do anything?" asked David.

"Well, no. Nothing that would be of use anyhow."

"What do you mean," Snow asked.

Blue shifted her weight from foot to foot and glanced around almost nervously. "I know a spell that could essentially turn back time for her. I could transform her back to what she once was."

"Define 'what she once was'," David ordered.

"I can turn her back into a little girl, but it would be different. She would only have one set of memories; memories that would match her physical age."

"How would that help us?" Snow asked.

"I told you it wouldn't be of much help," Blue said with a shrug.

Snow sighed. "Well, let us know if you think of anything that might help us. Otherwise…"

"We're all screwed," David finished. He took Snow's hand and walked out of the convent.

~*o0O0o*~

"Hey, Regina?" Emma asked. They were sitting in the living room on the couch, Henry asleep between them and The Avengers playing on the TV.

"Yes?"

"What was you mom like?"

Emma knew the second the words left her mouth that that was the wrong question to have asked. Regina tensed slightly and when she spoke, her voice was sharp and clipped. "She was my mother. That's all there's really left to say."

"How do we stop her?"

"You can't kill her."

"Sure we can. Powerful as she is, everyone can be killed."

"No," Regina said. "I mean don't kill her." She turned towards Emma with tears sparkling in her dark eyes.

"If it comes down to it…" Emma started.

"She's my mother, despite everything else. She wants me and if it comes down to me or Henry, I'd gladly die to save him."

"Don't even joke like that," Emma said with a forced smile, but true sincerity. "You're his mother. I'm just some chick he met online." Regina cracked a small smile at Emma's words and absently let her hand fall onto Henry's head. She stroked his hair absently as she spoke.

"Is it possible to love someone even though all they ever do is hurt you?"

Emma realized where the conversation was headed and she chose her next words carefully. "I think it is. I think that the love we let ourselves get from others is how much love we give ourselves."

"What about change?" asked Regina. "Do you think people are really capable of it?"

"Yes. If they want to and they have support, I know that people can change. I did."

"But what if a person is too far gone?"

"I don't know."

Emma and Regina sat there in silence for a long moment, their eyes fixed on the movie. Emma kept thinking about Regina's words and yesterday's then-hopeless idea was becoming more and more plausible by the second.

Finally, she took a deep breath and turned to Regina.

"I know you're not going to like what I'm going to need you to do, but I really need you to tell me before Gina shows up."

"What?" Regina asked. She felt her heart start beating faster and her head was spinning. She tried to shake it off, but this time it was too strong.

"How do you get into your vault?"

"The…crypt," Regina ground out through her clenched jaw.

Then she let go. Her eyes widened and she smiled brightly at Emma. It always astounded the blonde how the former evil queen could look so much like a young child at times.

Regina giggled quietly at nothing and then asked, "More ice cream please?"


End file.
